Forever
by animelover630
Summary: In a freak accident, a life is lost. You never know how much someone means until they're gone. Thoughts in front of a grave. KyoUo, slight Yukiru. PG13 for future chapters
1. Prologue

Word up yo XD AL630 is back! After... like... five years o.0 anyway so this fanfic is a result of my obsession with Fruits Basket and my huge obsession with the Kyo/Uo pairing. I love it love it love it T-T OK well this first chapter had to be a prologue because I felt it couldn't do anything besides end here, but because it's so short I'll put up the next chapter tomorrow...

Yes. This _is_ Kyo/Uo.

I have a deep hatred for Yuki and Tohru (the characters, not the coupling) just because... and I don't hate Akito because he is evil and I lurv evil ok I'm done now XD

Disclaimer: I don't own nothing T-T it's a sad sad world, isn't it?

Summary: In a freak accident, a life is lost. You never know how much someone means until they're gone. Thoughts in front of a grave. Kyo/Uo, Yukiru

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_**FOREVER**_

Chapter 1: Prologue

Hatori shuffled through his paperwork and sighed as he stretched out his arms in front of him. A maid knocked twice and poked her head in. "Sensei, urgent phone call for you."

"Yes, thank you." Hatori eyed the phone next to him warily, hoping to god he wouldn't hear Shigure's bubbly, annoying voice. He picked up the receiver. "Hatori Sohma speaking."

A shaky voice, very _unlike_ Shigure's, answered him. "D-Dr. Sohma? I-it's..."

Hatori's face paled. He would have preferred it to be Shigure after all.

------

"Today, January 15, at exactly 6:06 PM, a crash accident occurred involving a truck and a pedestrian. Kyo Sohma died."

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	2. The Household: Tohru, Yuki, and Shigure

W00t. Finally finished chapter 2 XD

Er... I haven't started chapter 3 yet, and I lost my outline, so it's going to take a really long while. T-T Gomen...

---------------

Chapter 2: The Household: Tohru, Yuki, and Shigure

"Kyo...kun?"

Tohru brushed a hand across her eyes and managed to smile.

"Thank...you."

She kneeled down and clasped her hands together in front of her heart.

_She kneeled down in front of a gravestone._

"You... you've made me so happy...and I'm so, so happy to have known you. Thank you so much, Kyo-kun. A-and I'm sorry." She stopped to wipe away more tears. "I'm sorry for hurting you when I decided to be... with Yuki-kun."

-

"_Kyo-kun...I...I have to tell you something..."_

_Kyo looked up. "What, Tohru?"_

"_I-" she paused, her face red, head bowed. "Yuki-kun... he asked me to be his... girlfriend."_

_Kyo stared at her for a moment, then erupted. "WHAT?! THAT DAMN RAT! I'LL-" _

"_I... said yes." She whispered._

"_What...?" Kyo let his fists drop. "What...?"_

"_I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Kyo-kun. I'm sorry..."_

_Silence hung in the air. Kyo walked past Tohru and put his hand on the door._

_Tohru whirled around. "Kyo-kun, where are you going?" she cried._

"_To find that _damn_ rat!" he yelled angrily._

"_No!" Tohru grabbed his hands from behind him. "Don't Kyo-kun! Please, I'm sorry! Please, just don't... don't take this out on Yuki-kun... don't hurt him, don't hurt yourself... please?"_

_More silence. The resistance in Kyo disappeared as his body loosened a little._

"_But..." Kyo's voice was softer. "I... like you too. A lot..."_

_-_

"I _love_ you. Kyo-kun. I've always loved you, I've _always_ loved the cat! But I love Yuki-kun, in a different way... I love you, Kyo-kun, as my _brother_, as my best friend, someone who I know will always be there for me, as my _family_. You, and Yuki-kun, and Shigure-san, thank you so much for letting me live with you, because... well, you're all like my family now, and I feel _so_ grateful... I'm sorry for hurting you, Kyo-kun, but I was so happy, I was so glad, that you found what I found in Yuki in someone else, you know? Remember that, Kyo-kun? You found the same _love_ in my best friend, Uo-chan."

-

"_Heeeey, Tohru, what's up?"_

"_Aaaah! Uo-chan! I haven't seen you in so long! Where have you been? Are you ok?"_

_Uo laughed at her best friend's panicked reaction. "Hey, don't worry about it. I've been... er... good... lately."_

_Tohru breathed out in relief. "I'm just glad that none of my other friends are feeling uncomfortable..."_

"_What do you mean by that?"_

_Tohru sighed. "It's Kyo-kun... he's been acting weird lately... he doesn't eat very much, and he always spaces out, and he doesn't talk much, and his face is always red, and he doesn't even fight with Yuki-kun! I'm worried about him..."_

_A confused look crossed Uo's face, then it was replaced with a grin as she laughed. "Haha! Orange Top? You mean he didn't tell you?"_

_It was Tohru's turn to be confused. "Tell me about what?"_

_At that moment the mentioned orange-haired teenager walked in, stopping at the sight of the blonde. "Y-you! Yankee! What are you doing here?!" his tone of voice changed from shock to anger to nervousness, as his face started turning red._

"_Hey, Kyon! We were just talking about you!" Uo stood up and grabbed Kyo's arm, making him turn redder._

"_A-ah?!" Tohru's mind couldn't process the sight in front of her._

_Uo grinned at Tohru. "I guess Kyon-chan didn't tell you that we're going out!"_

_Silence._

"_Dammit, Yankee, what's with the Kyon-chan?" Kyo growled, but Uo had no chance to reply as she was cut off by a rather loud exclamation._

"_UWAAAAAH???!!! UO-CHAN AND KYO-KUN... YOU-YOU TWO ARE- UWAAAAAAAAHHH????!!!!"_

"_Y-you don't have to be so surprised..." Kyo said apprehensively, a little freaked out by Tohru's reaction. And she's the first person we told... He gave Uo a goddammit-what-kind-of-things-did-you-tell-her look. She just smiled._

_After Tohru calmed down, she beamed. "Wow... you two... I'd never have imagined it! Congratulations! I'm so happy! Two of my best friends are together! Thank you so much!"_

_What's she thanking us for? The same thought echoed through both of their minds._

"_So... how long have you two been like this now?" she asked eagerly._

_Uo elbowed Kyo in the stomach. "Ever since he got spacey, I guess."_

"_Ah! Goddammit, woman, what was that for?"_

"_Sweet, sappy, symbolic signals of young looooooooove!" The last word was sung in a high falsetto, making everyone wince. _

_Tohru sweatdropped. "Shigure-san..."_

"_Oh, great." Kyo slumped down onto the table, and Uo patted him on the head sympathetically. "Aww, poor kitty." She cooed, earning herself a glare._

"_So, Kyo, your strange behavior lately was actually the first floating sakura petals of love, as they fell from the sky, like the sweet caresses of angels- AAAAH! IT BURNS!" Kyo had flung the remainder of the teapot's contents, still fresh, into Shigure's eyes. "I'm sorry, Kyo-kun, the only sweet caresses you want are from Uotani-san!" he jumped up from the table and ran out the door, followed immediately by a very pissed off neko, who was shouting colorful things which quickly faded away._

_Tohru sat in shock as Uo laughed amusedly. "That's him for you."_

_Tohru recovered and smiled. "I'm so glad for you, Uo-chan. I wish you lots of luck with Kyo-kun and happiness."_

"_Ha, with a guy like that, I'll need luck. ...But Tohru, is it ok, with me and him and all?"_

_Tohru smiled, one of her honest, sincere smiles that could melt anyone's heart. "Yes, Uo-chan, I'm so happy..."_

_Uo smiled too, one different from her trademark vintage smirk. "Then... that's good."_

_-_

Tohru smiled at her fond memories of her two best friends together. That had been one of the happiest times in her life, as she was with Yuki, and her two best friends were with each other, and Hana was with Haru, and everything was like a fairy-tale.

Her smile faded a little. She just hadn't expected the fairy-tale to end this way.

"She... she blames herself, Kyo-kun, for what happened. But it's really not her fault, is it? It's no one's fault. I'm so worried for her, and I don't know if I can help her. I feel so helpless, Kyo-kun, please, you have to help her, you have to protect her, you have to be there for her, you have to do all those things that only _you_ can do, because only _you_ have that special, special place in her heart. Oh, god, Kyo-kun, help her, please. Why- why do people have to suffer like this? Why do these kinds of things happen to good people, to such good people like Kyo-kun? Kyo-kun- and Mom?! This shouldn't happen to _anyone_, no one deserves this! ...No one deserves... this pain... no one deserves to be ripped away from the people who care about them..."

Tohru attempted to catch her breath and calm down. She finally became aware of the rain which hit her skin and drenched her clothes.

"Y-you feel that, Kyo-kun? This rain... it's been raining now, ever since... so many people care, they care so much about you, the sky, the heavens, they're all crying for you..." she shook her head. At your funeral...maybe you didn't feel it... our love I mean... but it wasn't really a fair funeral to begin with, was it?"

-

_It was two days after the accident. Several people stood in front of a plain, brown, closed casket, the only decoration being a small cat symbol carved into the bottom of the casket._

_Hatori lifted his head up and looked at the other faces, some bowed, some tear-streaked, some grave. He sighed. "I hate to say something like this in this situation, but our time limit's running out. It's time to lower the casket."_

"..._wait..." A whispery voice sounded._

_Uo stepped forward. Her hand traced the cat figure slowly, a faint smile forming on her face. "Will you...let me... carve something...?"_

_Hatori nodded solemly and produced a jackknife out of thin air, handing it to her, a sadness in his eyes. "Yes..."_

_Uo whispered her thanks. She studied the cat figure once more. With a trembling hand, she carefully carved out a simple fish shape and stepped back, handing the knife back to Hatori._

_Hatori nodded to the staff standing by, then addressed the party again. "...today there's a time limit, courtesy of Akito, but tomorrow you may pay your respects as long as you like..." he saw Uo linger behind out of the corner of his eye as he walked away._

_Only Tohru heard what Uo whispered as she watched the casket disappear under a mountain of dirt, her eyes trained on the two carvings the whole time._

"_So... Kyo... a part of me... will be with you forever..."_

_-_

"So... now I'm here... Kyo-kun..." she sighed. "Uo-chan, she should've come here first maybe, I didn't deserve to speak with you first. But she... she's _not_ all right, Kyo-kun. This might be a selfish request but... don't... don't leave her alone, Kyo-kun... don't leave us all..." she broke down crying. Her cries echoed in the empty graveyard for countless minutes, the kind of time no one bothers to count.

"Tohru-san..." the rain stopped hitting her skin as a pair of hands gently touched her shoulders, a more spiritual sort of hug.

"A-ah! Yuki-kun!" Tohru tried to brush away her tears, to no avail. "Y-you're here!"

Yuki nodded and stood up, looking at the plain gravestone. All it said was "Kyo Sohma." "How could I _not_ come here...?" he whispered softly.

"I'm sorry, I'm almost done..."

"No, it's my fault for intruding..."

Tohru smiled up at him. "Don't worry, I'm really almost done." She picked up the flower bouquet next to her and placed it in front of the gravestone. "Y-you see, Kyo-kun? They're tiger lilies... they're... the same color as your hair." She said quietly, then stood up and bowed. "Rest in peace, Kyo-kun. ...Take care of my mom up there." She finished, sniffing and wiping away her other tears. Slowly, she turned to Yuki. "I... I'll see you back home."

"Yes..." Yuki handed her a spare umbrella he was holding. "Be careful."

"Thank you, Yuki-kun..." Tohru looked at the umbrella for a moment, then hurried out of Yuki's own umbrella's protection towards Kyo's gravestone.

"T-Tohru-san?"

Tohru opened the umbrella and stuck it in the ground firmly next to her flowers, shielding the gravestone from the pelting rain. "There... Kyo-kun... he didn't really like the rain... now... he won't get sick..."

Yuki smiled sadly. "I'm sure... he'd appreciate it."

Tohru nodded and hurried away, holding an arm up to block the rain.

Yuki watched Tohru leave, then turned to the gravestone. "She's been miserable since you left, you know that?" A soft, gentle, cold voice.

It disappeared. "...you STUPID cat." He spat out the well-used phrase like it was poison.

"Why'd you go and _die_? Did you do this on _purpose_ or something to get people to feel bad for you? Did you do this because you felt you didn't have enough sympathy from the world? Did you do this because you felt sorry for yourself? Do you even know _what_ exactly you _did_?" Yuki appeared calm, but his words were angry and cold. He breathed in and out deeply, closing his eyes. After a moment, he spoke again, more calmly, more restrained.

"No... even you wouldn't have done something like that. _Especially_ someone like you. You... you _love_ Uotani-san too much to have done something to hurt her on purpose. You saw it in her from day one, didn't you? It was in your eyes. Something _different_ about the way you looked at her. Something _special_. You..."

"Did you ever know _why_ I hated you so much? This goes deeper than the cat and the rat, deeper than becoming part of the zodiac."

Yuki's voice was tinted with regret, anger, sadness. Why now, why couldn't he conceal his feelings like usual, why at this time, why in front of _Kyo_?

Why... in front of his _grave_?

"I always... admired you. In the way that you get along with people by being yourself, by being who you are. You can live a normal life, you _could've_ lived a normal life, with a normal person, don't you see? Even now, when I'm with Tohru-san, she's not cursed, but she's not exactly normal, either. She's _special_. That's why... why we both fell in love with her, right? She knew about our curse from the very beginning of it all. But Uotani-san, she fell in love with you _before_ she found out about the curse, before she found out she could never hug you. And it's not just Uotani-san who cares about you, there's Tohru-san and Hanajima-san and Shigure and Hatori and Ayame and _definitely_ Kagura and a lot of the other zodiac members and pretty much everyone in the whole school, they all care about you. I admire you, Kyo, you stupid cat. You couldn't join the zodiac, but you joined the real world. You shouldn't have died. You were the outcast, Kyo, but you had so much! You _have_ so much! Watch, Kyo, watch what happens over the next few days. Watch their reactions. Watch _over_ them. You hated me from the start, just because I'm the rat, and- and, maybe, that's ok."

-

"_You _damn_ rat!"_

_-_

"_One day I'll make you say you're sorry!"_

_-_

"_I hate Yuki! And I _like_ hating him!"_

_-_

"I hate you too, for not seeing what you have. You don't _need_ to be a Sohma to be happy. It'll only make you worse, perhaps. You were fine being the cat, stupid! Why did you die, _dammit_, why did you have to _die_!"

Yuki rarely, if ever, swears.

"I won't forgive you for this... for dying. I promise... I won't forgive you. For all of this pain you've caused us. For ruining it for yourself. I won't. I won't forgive you."

Yuki's fist was shaking as he glared down at the gravestone. "Get up, bakaneko! GET UP! Get up and tell me I'm a damn rat! Beat me! Make me say I'm _sorry_! _GET UP, KYO!_" Yuki screamed at the name carved in the stone.

The only sound was of Yuki's panting, small and alone and in a huge graveyard.

-

_Familiar footsteps sounded behind Yuki as he walked back to Shigure's house. He sighed in exasperation. "What is it?"_

_Kyo gritted his teeth. "..."_

"_Looking for another fight, bakaneko? You'll never win."_

"..._I know."_

_Yuki looked at his cousin in surprise. "What?" he said, momentarily flustered._

_Kyo looked away, anger, confusion, defeat contained in his red eyes. "You- you're the kuso nezumi. I'm the bakaneko. You'll always win, anyway... just like you won Tohru."_

"_What exactly is your point?"_

"_I give up. On Tohru, I mean. God, you can have her. It would never have worked anyway. She's too pure, too innocent."_

"_It might not work with me, either, you know. She could fall in love with an outsider and never choose either of us."_

"_Are you CRAZY, you damn rat?! Haven't you noticed the way she looks at you?! Goddammit, accept it already! It's ONLY _you_!" Kyo was angry again, just like usual._

_"..." Yuki smiled a little. "So the cat finally accepts defeat."_

"_What the hell did you just say, you damn rat?! I'll grind your face into the dirt! I'll make you wish you were never born!"_

"_Been there, done that. So much for giving up." Yuki sighed exasperatedly, walking home with a yelling neko stalking him._

_-_

And he'd never have memories like that again.

"Baka...neko."

The umbrella in Yuki's hand fell to the ground with a small splash, destined to be forgotten. The rain showered down on him, plastering his gray hair to h is face, his large purple eyes shining through the dull weather.

"Do you understand now? Do you understand what you truly meant to the world? It's almost pathetic, Kyo, how this all turns out. The cat, scorned by the zodiac, scorned by the head of the Sohmas, will probably leave the most painful memories among those he lived with. It's crazy, Kyo. It's crazy... just like the way you lived your life. Everyone always says how Honda Tohru-san has made such a huge difference in all of our lives... now that you're gone, maybe you've made _as_ huge of a difference in our lives. No matter how hard you try, you'll always be yourself. You're like an open book, a huge novel, lying there on the floor for everyone to read, for anyone to step on... for anyone to pick it up and bring it to safety, to care for it. But... no one realized the novel was coming to an end... no one realized the book would fall off the table and slam shut on the floor. If... if anyone, if everyone had saw it coming, then the novel might have been read more often, it might have gotten more attention and care. Dakedo... no one saw it coming. Everyone assumed the annoying cat would always be there, that he would always be annoying. It's like that old saying... _You never know how much something means to you until it's gone. _If you hadn't died, things would pretty much be the same, wouldn't they?" his voice became a little hopeful, in a miserable way. "Everything would still be OK, WOULDN'T IT?"

Yuki shut his eyes tightly, refusing to let all of his emotions come out. He refused to ever surrender everything he had to Kyo. He would never. Not even in this case.

But some of them came out. Isn't that what counts...?

-

_"Heeey, Yuki!"_

_-_

Yuki's eyes shot open as a faint memory flashed quickly in front of his eyes, a kid's happy voice sounding in his head, then disappeared.

Was that-?!

"What... happened? Before, I mean? Did you hate me... from the moment you were born? Or-" his voice shook. "Or- did _someone_-" he couldn't finish the sentence.

_Akito._

He remembered a little now. He remembered laughing, and the color orange. He remembered being happy, he remembered having a friend.

He remembered Akito's cold, familiar voice, yelling at a small, orange-haired boy on the ground in front of him, as he peeked in a crack in the door.

_"You're disgusting! You're a monster! You will never be accepted! You will never be able to be happy, you're a monster! Don't you ever try to be friends with Yuki again! It's all his fault, you understand? IT'S ALL HIS FAULT YOU'RE LIKE THIS!"_

He hadn't seen Kyo for months, maybe even years after that. They had been little, so the memories pretty much faded away anyway, even without any of Hatori's help.

And the next time he saw Kyo, the next time he approached Kyo, never remembering they had once been friends- Kyo's eyes burned with hate. Directed at him.

_"I hate you."_

But Kyo had remembered. He had to have remembered.

Yuki brought a hand to his mouth, holding back any sound that might have come out. He cursed himself for taking this long to figure it out. How could he have never seen it?

_Akito._

God knows he himself had been through hell with that... that... person... but _Kyo_... he never knew what Akito had done to him. Before he had been banished from the house, except for New Year's.

"So... maybe..."

Yuki gritted his teeth. Now he was really mad. Not only does the bakaneko _die_, but he finally remembered what they could have been.

They weren't gay, no fanservice, sorry. But they _could've_ been best friends...

They _could've_ been like _brothers_.

Was this the same abandonment that Ayame felt, his real brother?

Yuki groaned and moved his hand to his head. Doing all this memory digging was killing him.

"But... you're dead."

So there was no use remembering anymore, was there?

There was no use _knowing_ what they used to be anymore.

He couldn't stay around here too long, it was already hurting him. If he stayed too long, he'd think of things he didn't _want_ to think about.

So he'd just let it end, now.

"Bakaneko... Kyo..."

This is _it_, isn't it.

"Goodbye..."

It's finally... _over_.

Yuki stood there for a second more, then turned around and started walking slowly, picking up the umbrella from the spot where he had dropped it. He wasn't going to _cry_ for him, at least not in front of him. He was never going to give up to him. But...

_But in the end... no one really won._

_-_

Shigure looked up from putting on his shoes as the front door opened. "Ah, Yuki-kun. Home already?"

"Home _finally_." Yuki said, but it lacked contempt for going to his rival's grave. "Where's Tohru-san?"

"Her room. Yuki-kun ...not right now. She needs her space, too."

"I know, stupid. Leave ME alone." Yuki walked up the stairs, throwing the umbrella at him.

"Oooh! Tag! I'm it!" Shigure caught the umbrella, but immediately held it away from him. "It's getting my clothes all weeet, Yu-kiiii-ku-n..." he was ignored by the nezumi. Shigure's eyes looked down at the umbrella, then fell on an old pair of Kyo's shoes, still in the closet near the doorway, which he had been meaning to throw out. His eyes softened as he started to walk outside. "I suppose it's my turn to grace Kyo-kun with my presence, eh..."

-

_Aroooooo..._ the chorus of dogs bounced around the gravestones, all bearing the name 'Sohma' or having some correspondence with the Sohmas.

"Welcome... to the Sohma graveyard. It's always cheerful here!" Shigure sang to himself. He stopped in front of Kyo's stone, chuckling at the tiger lilies. "The orange makes it impossible not to miss... ah, just like in real life..."

"Because... Kyo-kun was impossible to miss..."

Shigure shook his head like the dog he was, his hair flinging water everywhere under the cover of his umbrella. "Maybe you should come home, Kyo-kun. Where were you, staying at a 'friend's' house? You missed your curfew, you sly cat!" he winked. "Anyway, come home. It's not home without loud noises, without a cat and a rat attempting to kill each other. Such a shame, I can't get anywhere with my novel! You've spent enough time away, so come, dust is gathering on your sweet picture of your sweet Uotani-san! Come home, Kyo-kun..."

_Arooo..._ a lone dog's cry.

"God, who am I kidding. Kyo's not coming home." Shigure ran a hand through his hair and moved his gaze to the ground. What interesting stones. One of these days, he had to write about stones. He switched back to his annoying, high-pitched voice. "What is going to become of my beautiful room with no master, and my wonderful, wonderful novel?" But his normally cheerful façade was cracking.

-

_Shigure couldn't sit still in the middle of dinnertime. "I am in the process of writing a new novel! Do you all want to hear about it?" _

_No one paid any attention to him._

_"Yay! Ok, well it is about this young, naïve, problemed, high school boy who is an outcast! One day he meets a tall beautiful high school girl, coincidentally also an outcast of sorts! As the story progresses-"_

_It finally dawned on Kyo. "Oh damn-"_

_"-tension erupts in the air, like fireworks, boom boom! Fiery love, the passion they withhold deep inside their walled up hearts, searching for the lone key inside one another's soul, like-"_

_"If you don't shut up-"_

_"-two lovers bound together by fate and destiny, to be cherished for all lifetime, destined to watch the sun's last rays gleam onto the shimmery ocean surface, and as the wind blew the boy looked at the girl in his arms, as her long, soft, sweet-smelling hair flowed smoothly in the wind, and as she smiled at him, her soft, moist lips curving up, he gazed into her eyes and became lost in the deep orbs which were the same as the ocean, which were larger and bluer and deeper and more brilliant than the vast ocean itself, and as he sunk into her look their faces neared until he could feel her breath in his mouth, losing all control he-"_

_"Drop dead Shigure-"_

_"-joined her lips with his own, sweet and soft and warm, but he wouldn't settle for just this, he wanted more, he slowly, sensually slipped his tongue into her mouth, all wet and writh- IIIIIING!!!!" Shigure jumped up and ran away, fake tears flowing down his face as Kyo's eyes glowed red._

_"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU DAMN DAMN DAMN DOG!"_

_That night, like so many others, Shigure (and his poor house) was pummeled to near death. Ah, it's good to know all is well in the world._

_-_

Ah, he would've paid big bucks to watch that expression go over Kyo's face again. You'd think he wrote porn or something.

_But all is not well in the world._

He'd never watch that expression go over Kyo's face again, or any other expression. He'd never get to torture Kyo, or clean up after Kyo, or teach Kyo any lessons in life (and girls)...

He'd never know Kyo again.

"When I was presenting the idea to my editor... I was _serious_, you know... I forgot about one thing, something I usually don't care much about..."

"Character development."

"And I thought, I _live_ with this guy, who practically lives _on_ the girl, like a drug I mean, not physically, although it works either way. But... to analyze someone like Kyo-kun..."

"Someone who matters a lot."

He paused.

"A looooooooooooooooooot." Just in case his point wasn't clear enough.

"And as I watched you, you weren't the cat from the zodiac. You became human. You were human. You were real. I could see everything. But I couldn't write all those things down, because the kind of traits that only Kyo-kun has, they don't fit in words, they don't belong in the form of ink on paper. They _surpass_ all those boundaries."

"Kyo-kun... you are special. Very special. The 'd' is optional. You're like a stamp, both physically and mentally. When you punch someone, you leave a bruise and occasionally, broken bones. But when you meet someone, you leave an imprint in their mind. It is incredibly hard to forget about someone like you, it's incredibly hard to develop a character like you."

"And yet, as I wrote, I wrote as I knew you, I wrote about the juvenile delinquent who is the major source of all my repair bills, I wrote about the idiot who spazzes when we run out of milk, I wrote about the lovestruck crazy hormonal teenager who obsessed without even knowing, and I wrote about the person who couldn't see what he was, who couldn't see who he was, but everyone else could. I wrote about the person that I saw, the person I knew was worthy of everything that everyone else is worthy of, and more."

"I wrote about Kyo-kun."

_Aroooooo..._

"I don't even know what to say. You lived in my house for almost four years now, didn't you? It wasn't the end, Kyo-kun. After graduation... it wasn't the end."

_Oh god._

"If you had known... if you had only known that _it wasn't the end_... would you have died?"

"Was it really... Kyo-kun's time to go?"

-

_You can take... my teeth... or my bones. _

_They don't matter to me._

_I will get it. _

_And I'll do whatever it takes to get there. Even lie or use people._

_I will make that dream last forever._

_-_

"I don't know. This whole time... what was I really thinking? What did I really want? I told myself...'_I want to make it last forever._ I want to be able to hold it in my hands. And I will.' '...If I can make it happen, I won't feel guilty about... the means to that end. Even if someone gets hurt in the process.' I still remember... telling that to Ha'ri... and telling that to... myself. But now... I'm standing here at Kyo Sohma's _grave_. Can I still tell myself... that I don't feel guilty?"

"Someone _died_. Someone who mattered. Someone got hurt in the process... _Kyo-kun_ got hurt in the process. How can I... _not_ feel guilty? I was chasing after that dream, that vow I made so long ago, though it still seems like yesterday. But I never saw in that dream that it would go this far. I never caught the dream, at least, not yet. But Kyo-kun _died_ because _I_ wanted to make it last... _forever_."

_Forever_.

"Is this a strange way of telling me I was selfish? By taking away others? Or would I have taken him away anyway, in the end, if he had gotten in my way?"

_I_...

"I... don't know... Kyo-kun... this..."

_Did I..._

"Please believe me, Kyo-kun, I never meant for this to happen..."

_...take it too far?_

"I know I sound pathetic but..."

_Really..._

"Kyo-kun is alive too... everyone has their own feelings..."

_Is it worth it... in the end?_

"Everyone is capable of being loved, being hurt... capable of making it last forever... but I..."

_Why...?_

"Kyo-kun is the cat. Kyo-kun is the outcast of the zodiac. Doesn't an outcast not deserve to be addressed with '-kun'?" he reminded himself.

_So how...?_

Shigure let out a deep breath and smiled. "Aaaah, Kyo-kun! I now see what Uotani-san sees! Suddenly the future is clear! MY LIFE IS FORFILLED!" A gazillion shiny shoujo bubbles surrounded him as he pranced around in a circle, until he tripped over a non-existent stone and fell, causing his beautiful bubbly bubbles to pop and end his world.

He sat up, rubbing his head. "Anyway... I think... I see it now. Why I don't think of Kyo-_kun_ as the outcast. Why I don't hate Kyo-kun. Why most people really don't hate Kyo-kun. Why people as different as Kagura and Uotani can fall in love with Kyo-kun. Because... all those stereotypes, the character development that people build in their own minds, that's what makes Kyo special, that's what makes you different."

_Arf!_

Shigure grinned and patted the dog's head, who had just ran up, tugging at his yukata. "That's right. I have a present for you too!" he declared in his normal Shigure voice. He produced a book from the folds of his yukata and placed it next to the flowers. "This is the novel... the novel about someone just like you. There's... no ending. I didn't want to write an ending. Because, Kyo, you deserve... to have a chance... to make it last forever, too."

As the novelist left, a small wind blew, scattering the rain. The pages of the novel turned carefully, under the umbrella's protection. The wind stopped, leaving it turned to the last page.

_To Kyo Sohma._

_Physical matter, the form of life, it can be taken away at any second. But souls and their memories can last forever, if at least one person still believes._

_Kyo-kun, you've got a whole army believing in you._

_This novel isn't over unless you yourself believe that it is over._

_Rest in peace, Kyo Sohma. You're not just the cat. Not anymore._

_-Shigure Sohma, beloved cousin of Kyo-kun! Ahahaha!_

_-------------_

Whee so how was it? Please review. Please XD

darkorejectL13 – T-T believe me, I didn't want Kyo to die. I just thought it would help my mind because when I write fanfics, all my characters go waaaaay OOC. So I was too scared that I would make Kyo OOC, so I killed him off. T-T I love Kyo!!!! Forever 3 And thanks for reviewing!

CorvidQueen – Somehow, I knew the fangirls would attack me. They were always out to get me. T-T Oh well, in future chapters near the end Kyo will magically come back! XD I wish. Well, he'll be there, though. Haha - Thanks for reviewing!

Ariyana – Yea, the beginning was pretty classic. I was randomly thinking about how I would hate it if Kyo died and it came to my mind. I swear I wasn't copying anyone else, lol, I've really never read something like that, or at least I don't remember... oh well! Thanks for reviewing

Wolfy – Yay, someone was shocked! -gives you a cookie- and why Kyo? Because I love him... yea, I know, that doesn't make sense XD Whee thanks for reviewing!

Chapter 3 might have some of a delay. Just a warning T-T Review... I'm out! Love and peace XD


	3. The Hatori People: Momiji, Ayame, Haru, ...

T-T sorry for the delay. School started again and this chapter was a lot harder to write, since the characters are a little more minor. Anyway, thanks for being patient T-T If the story sounds a little retarded at times it's either cuz I was dead or I was too frustrated to write super long things, so this is a little shorter. I don't know what the heck I'm saying.

Anyway, Uo will be coming up in two chapters. _That_, I promise, will be kick-ass long. XD

I realized I forgot to put disclaimers for the last chapter. So I am now disclaiming.

I disclaim Fruits Basket. o.0

* * *

Chapter 3: The Ha'ri People: Momiji, Ayame, Haru, and Hatori 

-An hour later-

"Waah! I wanna go first! I wanna go first!"

"No! I shall be first, because I am all lovely like that!"

"I think Kyo _likes_ causing me this much trouble." Hatori muttered under his breath as his eardrums were pierced multiple times by high-pitched whining. If lightning would strike him right now he'd have gladly accepted his fate, but he was stuck in his own car with nowhere to run. Dear god, the horror of it all. (A/N: Unlock your door, Ha'ri! Unlock your door... XD)

"Why... don't I... hmmm... no." Haru was no help.

"Oh, dear! I have caused dear Ha'ri pain! Ha'ri, what can I do to make you feel better??!! Would you like me to-"

"Stop. Right now." Hatori cut Ayame's sentence off, not wanting to hear what he had to say this time. "Momiji, you go first. Then Ayame, then Haru."

"What about you, Ha'ri? Aren't you coming too?"

"...I'm going with Haru, so he doesn't get lost." He answered, after a while.

"Yay! I get to get out of Ha'ri's car first!" Momiji squealed, bouncing up and down.

"Before everyone decides to destroy my car, we're all getting out. There is a thing called a check-in building, you know."

"Unlock the doors, Ha'ri! Unlock the doooooors..." (A/N: Anyone's guess on who this is... maybe it's Haru! XD yea sure)

_Click_.

"Yaaaaay! Score for Momiji!" his feet touched the ground a second after Hatori unlocked the doors. "Yaaaay!"

"Momiji isn't playing fair." Ayame pouted.

"Get out of the car, Ayame."

"...ouch." Haru said, after a while. Momiji had slammed the door in his face.

"Haru. The door is on your left."

"...left, right?"

"Right."

"But there's no door on my right."

"Left, Haru, left."

"Right, so left side?"

"Right."

"There's nothing on my right, Hatori. Are you OK?"

"_Haru_..."

"Right. Gotcha. Left." He reached for his right.

"Left is the _other_ way, Haru!" the poor doctor's voice was being strained.

"Ah. The wonders of machines." Haru opened the door and got out, grinning at the influence Hana had on him. He started walking... in the opposite direction of Ayame and Momiji.

Hatori groaned and slumped over the wheel for a few seconds before checking on Haru to make sure he didn't walk too far away, then re-slumped over the wheel. _Thanks a lot, Kyo._

* * *

"Hiiiiiya Kyo! Guten tag!" Momiji waved at the gravestone from under his umbrella. "Bet you're sleepy, huh? It's really, really rainy! For like... ah..."

"...Didn't the rain start, like, the moment it happened?"

_The moment you left? When you left this world? And would never come back?_

"Guess what, Kyo? Remember that story in the book that that kid brought, the one that I told you and Yuki and Shii-chan about, with that story about the most foolish traveler in the world? Well, that same kid brought another book once, even though I was absent that day and I didn't hear what he read. Well I was looking through the bookstore that we own, and I found that other book, it was called 'A Collection of Pitiful People'. When you hear the title you don't know if you should feel happy or sad, if you should laugh or cry."

_Kinda like when we heard you died. Laughing's the zodiac way of looking at it, crying's the life way of looking at it._

"So I was looking through it, right? And I see this story. It had really funny pictures, too. You see, there was once an outcast in a high-society family. He was ignored because of his blood, and because his own parents didn't have a good reputation."

"Typically, he became a rebel. This gave his family even more reason to hate him. He grew up to have an ultimate goal: to be accepted by people who had _influence_, like his family, because he wanted to feel normal, having a hope that he would be like everyone else. He wanted to feel like someone."

"Without knowing it, he attracted people. So many people wanted to become friends with him. These people didn't know or care about what ran through his blood. They liked him for him. They became friends with him, they cared for him, some even _loved_ him, from the bottom of their heart. But in the outcast's mind, he would be an outcast forever. His mind had already told him over and over, and he always thought, no matter what happened, that no one really, truly cared."

"In the end, he ran away. He couldn't see what he had, so he ran away. From everyone. And from himself. He never came back."

_Never came back..._

"Kyo? There are so many people who care. You have friends, you have a home, and you have a girlfriend. Don't you think the person in the story... don't you think he was _lucky_? He doesn't have to be accepted by his family. Some of the people in his family shouldn't even be considered his real family. Doesn't he already have a _different_ family? People who truly care? Because _that_ is the real definition of 'family'... people who care about you?"

"Kyo, don't you think the person in the story is you?"

"Did you run away, Kyo? Why did you leave? People care. We care. So why did you run away? Was your mind so set on the fact that no one cares that you can't stand it when people actually _do_ care? Is that why you ran away?"

_"...crash accident... Kyo Sohma died..."_

Those were the only words Momiji heard when Hatori told him and everyone else. And the only thing he thought was,

_"Why?"_

"Sometimes, when I think about it, I wonder why fate took away the one who never belonged. It's ironic... like Akito finally got his wish. Like fate listened to Akito instead of looking at you, Kyo."

"Was Akito's hate so passionate towards you, that you were chosen to be taken away?"

"Or was fate punishing Akito...?"

_How does that work out?_

"Kyo... you didn't run away, did you? You couldn't stand getting so close to someone, but at the same time it was your dream... but still... you didn't choose to die... you weren't so scared of yourself."

"You didn't lack that much courage that you would want to die."

"You always used to say that you're so strong, and that wasn't always true. You used to be so emotionally weak, not being able to control yourself, or being able to accept anything. You got so scared when someone approached you. Somehow... To-hru _started_ changing you. Uo-chan _completed _that. "

"Because of Uo-chan, you really _were_ strong..."

"Because she accepted you, you learned how to live..."

"I wonder... if anyone else learned how to live... _without_ you?"

"Ne... at least my head won't hurt as much now..." the rabbit laughed, thinking of Kyo's constant noogies.

"It was fun, you know?" he said lightly, smiling. "I loved getting on your nerves. It was fun. I mean... don't _siblings_ do that? Get on each other's nerves? In the end... I'd feel so happy. Not just because To-hru or Yuki or Shii-chan were there, but because you were there too."

"Going to Shii-chan's house, and especially when Ha'ri stayed too or Ayame or Haru or Kagura came over, I always loved it. I always loved that feeling... the feeling where I have a real family. People I know I can trust, people who I know accept me, people who I love."

"Kyo, you're part of that family too... am I a part of yours?" Momiji smiled a little.

"Whenever Uo-chan came over, I always watched you. I always used to see you moping around the house and glaring at everyone who got in your way, and watching To-hru sadly. You used to hate yourself, I could see it. You hated losing, you always did, especially to Yuki. But then, Uo-chan became a part of you. You'd light up inside, and try not to show it, but anyone could tell that you really loved living at that moment. But also... there was always a little sadness in that... in your eyes..."

"She was so important to you, she did what none of us could... you wanted to protect her, didn't you? You didn't want her to be hurt, when you had to tell her what would happen after graduation. You didn't want her to be unhappy, because she couldn't hug her boyfriend. But you fell too deep... like the ocean's waves. They carried you further and further in until you were drowning in all those feelings which you never had before, and flooding your mind with just Uo-chan. You couldn't pull away."

"Isn't that right, Kyo?"

"You tried so hard... but she... I know that she doesn't regret it. She'll never regret having all those times with you, Kyo... none of us will. If we all had the power to erase our own memories completely of you... I don't think any of us would. You _belong_ in our hearts... without you, we're not us, not completely. I would be Momiji without an "i" at the end. Haha, Momij, isn't that weird?" he laughed.

"You're really worth it, you know, Kyo? You are someone... you are _Kyo_..."

"You don't _need_ the Sohma family to accept you. You already have a family... Sohmas or not... _you_... just have to accept _us_..."

"Momijiiiiii!!! Don't hog Kyonkichi all for yourself!!!!" a shrill sing-song voice rang in Momiji's ears.

"Wow, Ayame can really yell, huh?" Momiji laughed, tugging at his right ear. "I won't be able to hear someday!"

_But you... you'll never be able to do _anything_... someday._

"Well, before Ayame gets mad at me, I guess I gotta go." Momiji took out a single flower from his jacket, and bent down to place it next to Shigure's book. "It's yellow, just in case you can only see in black and white. Or maybe that's just Haru? But yellow's a cool color! Tschüs, Kyo!"

_You're a part of this family... forever._

* * *

"Tag! You're it!" Momiji bounced into the lobby and charged straight into Ayame's back, pushing him off balance.

Ayame's supposed destination was on top of Hatori, and the estimated time arrival was three seconds.

Hatori put out a hand. Ayame's chest landed on it instead, stopping him.

"Oh, dear Ha'ri, you don't have to worry! I'm just a guy, remember? I know it's typical to think of me as a girl because of my stunning beauty, but I won't transform when I embrace you dearly!"

Hatori gave Ayame a little push, sending him back into standing position. "I don't think Shigure would approve of you cheating on him." He answered, dead serious.

"Oh, dear dear Gure!" Ayame swooned. "He'll forgive me with all his love. Besides, do not put it in such crude terms like 'cheating'... I am merely... helping out a dear friend! With his lack thereof... I mean..."

"Speaking of dear friends... we're here for a reason." Hatori's voice was tense again.

Ayame smiled. "Right as always, Ha'ri. I'll be back, so wait for me!" he skipped out of the building, holding a box in one hand like a pizza delivery guy and an umbrella in the other.

"He's crazy." Hatori grumbled.

"If he's crazy, then he's just like the rest of us!" Momiji reminded happily.

"Don't remind me."

"I think he just doesn't want to see Kyo." Haru's voice interrupted them.

"Huh?" Momiji looked over at Haru. "He was fighting with me to see who gets to see Kyo first in the car!"

Haru's eyes were narrowed. "It's not that he hates Kyo. He just doesn't want to accept Kyo's being gone, all of the sudden. Ayame is the type of person who hates it when something happens and it isn't in his script of life."

"..." Hatori sat back and crossed his arms.

"I wonder if there's a Gray Haru!" Momiji exclaimed.

Haru smirked.

_There is a Hana Haru._

* * *

"KYONKICHI!!!" Ayame shouted from a few feet away. He skidded to a stop. "Oh! You're not disagreeing! I knew it, you do like that name! It does fit you perfectly!"

"Speaking of fitting perfectly, I figured out that you're long overdue for a stop at my shop- because everybody needs a Stop & Shop! So, since I heard that you were unable to come, I came to you!!! Doesn't that make you feel special?" Ayame beamed.

He held out the flat package. "You were getting old, Kyonkichi! 20's that time when you can never look back! Ah, I remember when I turned 20, and Gure-" he covered his mouth with the tips of his fingers and blushed. "Oh, well, you know. Anyway, since you have such a lovely girlfriend, I thought that you were thinking ahead! Future and all that! So, this is from my store. Free of charge, just for you!" He placed the package down with all the other things.

"It's a wedding dress."

He paused, his eyes half closed.

"Ah yes, because you would look beautiful in a dress! AHAHA!!!"

"Well, putting that aside," he said, stifling the last of his laughter, "it's really for Uo-chan. I just thought... you know... you might like to approve of it."

"Your wedding would've been beautiful, because of my work, whether you liked it or not. Your wedding... your future... you would've had one. Really, all joking aside. Akito... you could've escaped that. He... because you're lucky like that, Lucky Kyo."

"I really wanted to see our little baby outcast all grown up and walking down the aisle in my shop's clothes."

"I don't have a tuxedo for you because you never came to my store to get fitted." (Don't ask me how he got Uo's measurements. o.0)

"This whole wedding thing... it's... is that the reason? Did you already accept the fact that you wouldn't have a future? Is that why you're gone... now?"

"If me and Gure and Ha'ri had told you... would it have happened?"

"Would you have accepted her... then?"

"Would you have walked down the aisle, instead of us having to walk down the aisle to you?"

_To see you in a coffin?!_

"You and her... we never thought we'd see a light in your eyes like that, even if it _was_ Tohru-chan. You really did deserve to walk down that aisle with her. You really did deserve to have that happiness with her. You deserved to have a future with her."

"You deserved what everyone else deserves, maybe even more. You needed happiness just like everyone else did, too. Why, then... why _you?_ Did you give up that easily? You ran away just because she asked you? Didn't you _want_ that? All your life? So why... why'd you reject her? It's not her fault." He shook his head in defeat.

"It's not your fault, either, is it...?"

_It's _our_ fault._

Ayame's long nails dug into his palm slightly, but he grinned. "Well, Kyonkichi, stay lovely and lucky and brilliantly beautiful!"

_I know..._

"Get plenty of beauty sleep too! Remember to try the dress on!" he winked and laughed as he skipped away.

_I know, Kyo..._

_...you will walk down that aisle, someday._

* * *

Momiji blinked. "Ayame, that was amazingly quick."

Haru nodded. "Yea, I thought you were gonna go on with your whole lovely rant or something."

Ayame laughed and handed the umbrella to Haru. "Kyo kicked me out."

Hatori stood up as well and took an extra umbrella. "Let's go, Haru."

"I'm not letting you wander off in a graveyard by yourself."

"...thanks for your concern, Hatori." Haru said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." They walked into the rain.

-Upon reaching the gravestone-

"Hatori..." Haru had an edge in his voice.

"Just don't walk off." Hatori retraced his steps until he was out of hearing range but still within vision.

Haru turned to Kyo. "So, Kyo, this is where you were hiding. I've been wanting to fight you now. We never finished fighting that other time, ya know?"

Silence.

"Are you so scared that you can't even answer me?"

Silence.

"Dammit, Kyo, you are so DEAD!" Black Haru almost came out, but then Haru realized what he had said.

_Dead._

"So tell me, who got there before me?" Haru was still angry, but Black Haru wasn't there.

"Was it yourself?"

"Why don't you stop being such a wimp and grind my face into the dirt already?! You think you can just chicken out by _dying_? Dammit, you lousy cheater! You can't run out on me now! You... you _loser_!"

_Provoking him isn't going to help._

"I should've listened to Hana... she was right!"

_"Haru."_

_Haru looked up and grinned. "Hey, Hana, what's up?"_

_"Something is wrong."_

_Haru touched her hand slightly and tugged her toward him. "When _isn't_ something wrong, huh?"_

_Hana moved forward just enough so she wouldn't fall forward from his pulling. "Not with you. It's with... It's Kyo, and Uotani as well. It's both of them. Something's _wrong._ Their denpa's _off.

_"Their denpa's always off, isn't it? You always say that. Maybe you're just picking up his curse again."_

_"From _both_ of them? Uotani doesn't have a curse."_

_"Come on, Hana, don't worry about it to much. Maybe they're fighting again." He pulled on her hand again._

_"Right, Haru."_

_But she couldn't shake that nagging feeling. Kyo and Uotani's fights never felt like this. This felt like... like something _horrible_ was going to happen._

"Why don't I ever listen to her? She's always right. Maybe we could've stopped it. Maybe it's my fault."

Haru calmed down a little bit now.

"What if it's my fault?"

Haru scratched his multi-colored head. "I'll bet everyone's saying that, huh? 'It's my fault.' Everyone's saying the same thing. They're all thinking of you the same way. Isn't that the same, though? It's the same as looking at you as an outcast, and the same as looking at you as a friend. Everyone looks at you the _same_ way. 'It's my fault, we all care about you.'"

"The one... the only one you can _really_ trust, Kyo, is the one who really gave her heart to you."

"Uotani. She's crazy, just like you. You both have fire. Remember that time, way back when me and Momiji first joined your school, we all played badminton together? I saw that. You guys kept picking fights with each other."

"People always said that love and hate are the same thing. Either way, it's an obsession, isn't it?"

"I used to hope that you and Tohru would end up together. Then, Yuki would be mine." Haru laughed and held out a hand out of the umbrella's reach, catching raindrops in his hand.

"That was stupid, I guess. Yuki would never have turned in my direction, not with Akito and all."

"You wouldn't be this happy either. I know that Tohru- she might've held you down. It's true she gives you the power of self-control, but it stops you from being who you are. Uotani, she controls you too, but in a different way. You're still free, aren't you? You were still free under her. You both ran wild, your fires clashing together."

"I wouldn't have met Hana, if everything had gone the way I thought it would. Do I owe that to you?"

"I guess I owe you a lot. Just like you try to beat Yuki, I tried to beat you. You made me stronger. By continually rubbing my face in the dirt, you made me face the hell in the world. Yuki tamed that whole black side of me, but you made both sides stronger. I would've never been able to defeat you, not with your fire."

"Hell, it was fun anyway, wasn't it?"

Haru stopped for a moment, watching the rain trickle off the umbrella protecting the gravestone.

"If any of us die, me or Yuki or Momiji, I doubt we'd get the same feelings that you got. Sure, it's sad and all, but we all have people who care about us, curse or whatever crap. But we were all accepted in life. 'Hatsuharu Sohma, headstrong, black and white, gay turned straight, rest in peace, we love you.' That's pretty much all anyone has to say. There's no thinking about it any further, because that's pretty much the way I was treated in life."

"But as you've heard a million times, you're the outcast. We all thought of you as an outcast, at least for a while, no matter who it was. Now that the outcast is actually gone, everyone has to think about it. Everyone wants to take back all they said, everyone wants to take back all their actions, all their feelings."

"Everyone would want to accept you, they wouldn't want to have let you go like that. They wouldn't have let you die or whatever, they'd have told you whatever they need to."

"You see, everyone just regrets everything."

Haru twitched slightly as one of his earrings gave a slight buzz.

"Oh, and Hana's coming later, just to let you know."

"Anyway, I guess I gotta go. I don't have any present for you or anything, but..." Haru smiled slightly and gazed at the name on the stone.

"I'm pretty sure you'll always be the winner in heaven."

_Rest in peace, yo._

* * *

"Hey, Hatori, I'm done."

Hatori looked up, like he had been in a trance. "Oh. OK."

"Aren't you going?"

Hatori stopped mid-step and paused, then turned around. "Oh yea. Wait here." He walked off.

Haru laughed and shook his head. "Even if he is a doctor, he zones out just like anyone else."

Hatori stopped in front of the stone before almost walking right past it. What was wrong with him today? He felt so out of it. He read the name on the stone just to make sure.

"Kyo Sohma."

_The one and only._

"I don't know what to say."

_I never was good at this._

"About Uotani..."

_You're gone. That means she..._

"if I asked her... "

_...feels the same way I do._

"About her memories..."

_Except worse._

"She would say no, wouldn't she?"

_Because she can never see you ever again._

"Even with all the pain this is going to cause her, she'd never give them up, would she?"

_And no one can blame Akito. Again._

"You're a very special person, Kyo. I don't know how else to put it."

"Maybe I'll come back someday. But... I can't talk to you. I don't know why. But I can't talk to you."

"Rest in peace."

* * *

"Hatori, that's crazy. You were gone for five _seconds_, that's breaking Ayame's record." Haru said, pissed off.

"I can't do it." Hatori mumbled under his breath, then raised his voice. "It's _this_ way, Haru."

* * *

_It's hard, to live and remember._

_When we know that we will never see you again_

_Never hear your voice again_

_Never fight with you again_

_Never piss you off again_

_Never get hurt by you again_

_Never laugh with you again_

_Never having you in our family again..._

_But we will always have those memories_

_Every one of us_

_Because we will never give you up_

_And you'll live on no matter what_

_Because you have a fighting spirit_

_And now we're fighting for you._

* * *

So how was it? o.0 Please review....

Daine-Wildmage: Thanks XD It's ok, everyone needs to be selfish. (or whatever it was that Kyo said XP) Uo's coming up in the chapter after the next chapter, or... chapter 5, I think. I just didn't want her to come in so early. But this is to everyone, Uo's chapter and the ones after that are gonna answer a lot of questions, so please be patient o.0... Thanks for reviewing Daine-Wildmage!

Dark-Dreams-69: Thank you very much! XD But it's a pain trying to get inside everyone's heads, especially the less-major characters like these... I had to make Hatori wickedly short so I wouldn't kill him. Ayame too. Thanks for reviewing my story, now update yours XD

Ariyana: I bet some of them are OOC here T-T Yuki got killed? Yay XD No offense to rabid Yuki fangirls... And HanaHaru... I just had to put that in. There were no other alternatives if I wasn't gonna make Yuki gay, unless I brought Rin back which would NOT be a great idea because I would kill the story... anyway thanks for reviewing!

The next chapter might be even more delayed, since school is going to be... crazy-insane, at least. So please hang on or something, because I'm sooooo hyped up for Uo's chapter, but I have to write the next one first...

Review, nice people X3


	4. Love and Hate Denpa: Kazuma, Kagura, Aki...

Yes, I'm alive T-T You have no idea how bad I feel for not updating for so long. This chapter was one hell of a challenge to write. I felt soooo incredibly insecure about my writing after reading other people's writing. I just didn't think I was good enough. Then, I didn't really know how to express all the different characters. It was so hard trying not to make them act all weird, but I think I did anyway. It was so weird! I got so much writer's block. I swear, if I didn't have February vacation to write this, you'd still be waiting for it when summer rolled around.

The amazing thing is that it's almost longer than my first three chapters combined. That's kind of a strange accomplishment. This is an extremely long chapter… is that good or bad? Haha…

Well, please have patience and read this. Keep in mind that I was really frustrated at times and under a lot of pressure. The whole time I was on FF. net I kept thinking, "God, why don't these other writers ever update their stories! It makes me so mad!" then I got all mad at myself because then I realized, I'm even worse than most of them! T-T So I sat down and forced myself to write the rest of it.

I think that's most of my rant. (Hey, I had it in me for almost six months, can you blame me?) Please, please review. You have no idea how much reviews help. Without all your encouraging reviews, I probably wouldn't have been motivated enough to finish this. Thank you so much to all the reviewers.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. Now enough of the delay! On with the show! XD

* * *

Chapter 4: Love and Hate Denpa- Kazuma, Kagura, Akito, and Hana 

Kazuma sidestepped a puddle unsuccessfully and ended up with a wet sock. He sighed. "It's days like these that I regret wearing sandals."

_But I'll never regret…_

He carefully made his way to his destination and stopped.

"Kyo Sohma."

…_making this choice._

"Well, Kyo, when was the last time I saw you? …a month ago? Seems like… a lot longer than that. Seems like you've been gone forever."

_Even if…_

Kazuma smiled sadly and bowed his head. A respectful moment of silence. Kyo deserved it.

_I have to…_

* * *

_"It's not my fault! It's not my fault!"_

_"It's all right… I know."_

* * *

_...visit a gravestone._

"It's not your fault, Kyo. Please don't torture yourself over this. It's not your fault; it's not Arisa's fault. It may not even be Akito's fault. Don't let yourself be overcome with hate, mistrust, guilt… it'll only make things worse. Do you think… do you honestly think Arisa would be _happy_ to know that you beat yourself up over this? It's not… your fault. It's… destiny."

"Everything happens for a reason…" How long had he lived by those words? His life was not one of a normal, average human being. Yet, all those strange happenings, all the supernatural forces, all the things that happened in his life, he never questioned them. It was all destiny, right? If someone had chosen for him to walk this path, then he would accept anything that came his way. "…even if we haven't found the reason yet."

_But why did this happen?_

"You know…" he looked up at the rain. It was days like this, he recalled, that Kyo hated. Funny how it started raining right after… _it_ happened. Kyo may have hated the rain, but the rain didn't hate him. "…you had no right to trust me. You knew I obeyed Akito, too. I knew I was being selfish. I took you in when you were alone… because I wanted to atone for my grandfather. I didn't want to live regretting the hurt I must have caused on him, just because he was the cat… so I thought… I could help you. And that would show my grandfather… that I did love him. I was wrong to push my grandfather away. So I decided I would accept you instead of pushing you away, as well."

"I didn't want to… I wouldn't be like everybody else. I made no effort to understand him… I didn't try to help him escape from the loneliness and the pain he must have felt. So… I wanted to make it up to him by showing compassion to _you_. Then, I wouldn't feel so guilty. I wouldn't feel like I was such a horrible person. But in reality, it was all just the same."

_I know I was wrong. I know I was selfish... _

"That… changed. You changed me. It turned from repentance to acceptance. I loved you. I still do love you. You weren't my grandfather. Kyo, you are you, and that's all that matters now. I can't fix what I did to my grandfather, but I can accept you. And _you_…"

_"…no way! SHISHOU ISN'T MY DAD!"_

"It was okay if you didn't accept it. As long as you were happy. All I wanted was for you to be happy. That time… I thought Tohru was the one. I really had hope. It turns out I was wrong." He smiled. "But you _did_ find the one. Her. Arisa Uotani."

"I am thankful that Arisa came into your life. She brought light to you. She changed you. That changed Akito. Akito… he never was as cruel as anyone thought. Did you see it? How he never brought it up at the end of the third year? He never called for you after the first meeting, did he? He wasn't like that. So I never brought it up. We thought, we all thought, we could surprise you. And then you could be happy forever. We didn't know… that this would happen. We honestly thought you had a future."

* * *

_Kyo stopped in the doorway, then backed up a little bit. "Hey, Master?"_

_Kazuma turned around. "Hello, Kyo. How was your day?"_

_"Why the hell are you here?"_

_"Do I need a reason to be here?"_

_"You're always here for a reason."_

_"Kyon, what the hell are you standing in the doorway for?" Uo said impatiently. "It's hot out here."_

_Kyo's eyes darted back and forth from his girlfriend to his guardian. Finally giving up, he walked into his house and took off his shoes._

_"Hey, Kyon, aren't you gonna introduce me?" _

_"Yes, Kyon, introduce us." Kazuma said, a smile on his face._

_Kyo twitched. "Yankee, Kazuma. Master, Yankee." He said quickly, then turned around and ran up the stairs._

_Kazuma smiled, turning to Uo. "Yankee?"_

_"Haha, yea. He'd probably feel weird calling me anything else. Anyway, I'm Arisa Uotani. Nice to meet you, Kazuma-san. Kyon's told me a lot about you."_

_"And I've heard about you, too. Nice to meet you… Uotani-san."_

_Thirty minutes later, Kyo came down the stairs. He froze when he heard their conversation. _

_"…And when he was 9, he thought he could land on his feet no matter what, so he jumped down the stairs from the very top. He broke his arm. But he was very graceful."_

_Kyo scowled as Uo broke out laughing. "It's good to know you guys are enjoying your quality time."_

_"Yeah, actually, we are! Wanna join us in our fond memory searching of you?" Uo asked, grinning._

_"Shut the hell up." Kyo said, grumbling. _

* * *

"The first thing I noticed… was how much she was like you. Immediately, I felt like I knew some part of her. That may have been because… part of her was _you_. I wouldn't have minded if she was my 'daughter'. I loved her like one. You and Arisa belonged together. You two could have been together for the rest of your lives. Nothing could have ripped you two apart…" 

"I know you two fought a lot, and your relationship was always so conflicted. One minute, you'd be yelling at each other, the next minute, it was like you were married or something like that."

_Married…_

"It was that thought, wasn't it? It made you scared. I remember… you never wanted it to get that far. You didn't want her to suffer like that… But you were already too far to stop. You couldn't stop. You couldn't end it like that. And it wasn't going to end. Really… it wasn't going to happen. You could've kept that kind of relationship, despite what you believed."

* * *

_"It'll never work out."_

_Kazuma looked up. He had decided to stay the night, and coincidentally, Uo had been planning to as well. He smiled at his student. "What do you mean? Shigure's house is big enough."_

_"Not like that." Kyo said exasperatedly. "You damn well know what I'm talking about."_

_"…"_

_"Yea. You do. You know what's happening. After graduation and all. It's never gonna work."_

_"You never know, Kyo."_

_"What do you mean, I never know! I can't keep this up, Master! This… it's not right. I can't make her stay with me… I can't be with her. It's not…" Kyo stopped, momentarily out of words._

_"Kyo, it is perfectly fine."_

_"No, it's not! I- I can't be with her anymore. I can't take this anymore. All this pain, all this guilt- it shouldn't have to affect her! She has nothing to do with this! I just want her to live her life without worrying about me anymore!" _

_"Do you really think you would save her any pain by breaking up with her?"_

_Kyo looked away. "…"_

_"…Kyo, you know I only want what's best for you. So please, consider this. Just… live life as fully as you can. Try to stop worrying about the future so much. You don't know what will happen. Just be as happy as you can now… worry about graduation later. Make yourself happy. That's the only way that Arisa will ever be happy."_

* * *

"Arisa loved you for who you were. It didn't matter to her. You showed her the original form of the cat… and she still didn't back down. It just made her love you more. She didn't even hesitate like Tohru did… she just went after you without thinking. It was her heart speaking to her, not her eyes or her nose. It was her heart which told her you were still Kyo under that appearance, not a monster. She knew the real you. She didn't have to love your other form, she accepted you for who you were. She loved you more than anyone, Kyo."

"You didn't have to be afraid of what would happen, don't you see? Even if you _had_ to be locked away after graduation, it wouldn't have mattered to her! She'd have been hurt, she'd be angry, but she'd still love you! She just wanted to be together with you… that's all she wanted."

Kazuma stopped.

* * *

_"I hate…"_

_"Yes?" Kazuma waited for Kyo to continue._

_"I hate being… a burden. I hate it when… people say bad things… because of me. I don't want… I don't want… anyone to be hurt…"

* * *

_

"No, Kyo… you weren't a burden. I wanted you… to be happier… than anyone else. I had to put up with insults… people who wouldn't understand… but it was worth it. You told me, 'Someday I'll be able to stand and walk on my own, without hurting anyone, and without being a burden.' Kyo, you can't stand and walk on your own. You can _run_ on your own. You can fly on your own, without anyone there to help you. But we'll be there, flying with you, so you'll never be alone."

"You don't have to live trying not to hurt anyone. You've hurt more people than you can imagine, by leaving us here. When you flew off by yourself, and never came back, you hurt all of us…" a tear slid down his cheek. "…but it's ok that it hurts. If it didn't hurt… then… we wouldn't love you. So… I'm glad that I was able… to take you in. I'm glad that... I've been hurt by you. I'm glad... that I can love you. That all of us can love you…" Kazuma smiled sadly, his tears falling to the ground, mixing with the raindrops.

_Was it really worth it…?_

_Was it worth taking in that little boy? Watching him grow up, showing him how to live, how to fight, how to be his own person? Was it worth watching him smile and laugh and cry? Living with him everyday when he was young and training him three times a week when he was older? Helping him through those times when he didn't even know he needed help? Watching him fall in love, watching him suffer, watching him tear himself to pieces, and not doing anything about it? In the end… was it all worth it? Was it worth saving that little boy?

* * *

_

_"Someday, I'll be the kind of guy who's worthy of calling you my dad!" _

_

* * *

_

_Yes… of course it was. Of course it was. If there was a choice… if he'd known this would happen…_

…_he wouldn't change anything. Not for the world. It was worth it… it was worth more than anything._

"I'm proud of you… son."

_I'll always be proud… to be able to hold my head high and say…_

_I am Kyo Sohma's father.

* * *

_

Kagura stopped in front of her ex-fiancé's gravestone. She laughed bitterly at this thought. They'd never actually been engaged in the first place, had they? Not mutually, at least. She loved him, but he didn't feel the same. That was ok. But it was the fact that he would never, ever, ever, ever be her fiancé again, even in a million years, that created her mixed feelings, because… he was dead.

She placed her flowers next to Tohru's orange ones. Hers were all different colors. They represented the different symbols… sincerity, harmony, peace, power, and so on. Kagura had made sure they were all elements which had been present in their relationship. She just wanted him to remember how life was. She never wanted him to forget… never forget.

The raindrops trickled off the rounded surface of her umbrella. "Ka-choo!" she sneezed. The weather hadn't exactly been perfect since… since…

Kagura brushed her sleeve across her eyes. No, she wasn't going to cry, not yet, at least. She had to talk to him first. She had so many things to tell him. She had to let him know, before she started crying, before the words would flow away in her tears.

"I love you, Kyo-kun."

"I love you so much, more than you could ever know. It's ok that you don't love me like that… and I've learned to accept it. I don't think it's like that anymore for me, either. I love you like a brother. More than anything else, I want to be able to say I am your big sister, not your fiancée."

_"Whatever you think, Kyo-kun, I'm the only one who loves you this much. I think I'm the only one for you! Don't you think so too?"_

Kagura smiled at her memory. That seemed like so long ago… so much had changed. "That's right. I used to think… I was the only one. I thought I would be the only one who could understand your pain, who could accept you, who would love you with all of their heart. I guess I was wrong. I guess you really didn't think so. The person who really _was_ the one for you… was Arisa Uotani."

"I never thought you'd find someone other than Tohru-chan or me. I always thought we would be the only ones. I never thought you'd find someone like Uo-chan."

* * *

_"Kyooooooooo-kun! Daaaarling!"_

_Kyo looked back out the door. "Damn." He muttered, realizing Uo was with him. He grabbed the Yankee's hand and pulled her with him as he ran. "Come on come on we have to hide right NOW!"_

_"?" Uo glanced from Kyo to the door as she ran beside him. "Why?"_

_"KYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-!" Kagura stopped flying in mid-air and landed on the ground. "KYO!"_

_"Craaap." Kyo groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead._

_"?" Uo was still confused._

_Kagura's eyes glowed as she towered over Kyo. "Kyooooo! Why are you holding hands with this girl!"_

_Kyo's eyes darted from Kagura to his hand, then quickly pulled out of Uo's grasp and looked away. "I, uh, d-don't know what you're talking about!" _

_"Kyooooooo-kuuuuun….." Kagura sang threateningly._

_"…" Kyo shot Uo a what-the-hell-are-you-doing-get-me-out-of-this look._

_Uo raised an eyebrow and smirked. "No way, Kyon, you're on your own."_

_"What! You can't do that!" Kyo said angrily. "What kind of girlfriend are you-" he stopped, his eyes widening in horror, as he realized what he had just said._

_"WHAAAAaaa…" Kagura lost her fire as she dropped to the ground. "G…girlfriend!"_

_"Uh…no! I mean yea! I mean…" Kyo started to panic as Kagura began to cry. "No wait I can explain!"_

_"Don't hurt yourself trying, Kyon." Uo said, rolling her eyes. "Yea, I'm his girlfriend. Who are you?"_

_Kagura immediately stopped crying and stood up, glaring at Uo. "I'm his fiancée! We're going to get married!"_

_"I ALREADY SAID NO!"_

_"Oh, really. Married, huh, Kyon?" Uo looked questioningly at Kyo._

_"Dammit! I'm sorry Kagura, but- she's my girlfriend!"_

_Kagura stared at him. "Why?" she whispered. _

_Then she punched him.

* * *

_

"I hated her. I hated her the moment I saw her, the moment I saw her with _you_. I didn't want anyone to steal you away from me! And she was exactly the person to do that. So I hated her with every part of my heart."

"I know you two had some painful times and everything… but no one… no one! No one considered how _I_ felt when I lost you to her! No one even wondered if I hurt inside or not! Just… just because I was a bit violent towards you sometimes… everyone thought I was strong enough to stand it. They all probably thought I had it coming. I think that hurt the most. The fact that I wasn't looked at as equally as anyone else when it came to you. It hurt so much to know no one cared about how I felt, how lonely I was. So I hated her! I hated her! I hated her for taking everything away from me!"

"I thought about getting revenge on her. I wanted to get rid of her somehow. I stalked you two sometimes so I could learn her weaknesses." Kagura smiled at these memories. Those good old times. "But… as I watched you grow happier and happier, my feelings started to disappear. I guess I realized it was for the best. I mean, that I let you go."

"You really didn't think of me that way… I guess now that I look at it, you'd never have ended up with me in the end, would you? It would never have been me… so now I'm glad that you met her. At least you got a chance to be truly happy. At least you got a chance to be with the one for you. So… I don't hate her anymore."

"No… I stopped hating Uo-chan a long time ago. I got to know her, too, and she wasn't that bad. She was a good person. I started to see… how you would've gone with her. I stopped hating her back when I realized it was better this way, back when you helped me understand."

* * *

_"Hey, Kagura…"Kyo said nervously. It had been a couple months after Kagura had found out about Kyo and Uo. Kagura hadn't officially come over to see them ever since, and Kyo wanted to set things straight. He had finally recovered from that beating she gave him._

_"What do you want?" Kagura said angrily. She still hadn't gotten over it._

_Kyo sighed. "I… I just… I just wanted to say… I'm sorry." _

_Kagura laughed bitterly. Of course he wasn't going to tell her he actually loved _her_, and not that gangster girl. "What does it matter?"_

_"You know what?" Kyo burst out. "I just wanted to say that I do love you. But not in that way. Not in the way that we're going to get married. I love you as a friend. Seriously. You're a really important _friend _to me, and I don't want to lose your friendship. I know I sound stupid right now, but…" Kyo stopped as Kagura started crying. "H-hey! Don't start crying!"_

_Kagura sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm just…"_

_"…"_

_"…so HAPPY!" Kagura leaped up and hugged Kyo tightly, choking him half to death. "I WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOU TOO! LET'S BE FRIENDS FOREVER!" The tears streamed down her face like rivers of joy._

_Kyo turned blue and hoped he wouldn't regret this later.

* * *

_

"You told me you just wanted to be friends, and that was all right. As long as you didn't hate me or anything. I don't think I could've stood it if you hated me back then. You're so important to me, Kyo-kun… more important than you could ever know. You're so important to so many people. I remember this one time, you asked me, _'Why? Why do you care so much about me anyway? Normally… normally people would avoid me, keep their distance…'_"

"I guess you had a reason to think that way. You were born the cat, the outcast of the zodiac. I guess you would think everyone avoided you. But that's not true… it's the fact that you thought no one would accept you that kept you away from others."

"Kyo-kun… you were the one who pushed everyone away. It's you who avoids people, and keeps your distance. Don't you see? Everyone naturally drifts toward you. People like you for who you are, not what you are. A lot of them don't _care_ that you're the cat… they like you because you're Kyo-kun."

"I know I didn't make it any easier. That time… when I ran away. Words can't ever, ever describe how badly, how sorry, how horrible I feel about that. I ran away because I… was scared. I couldn't help it. And I know… I know that it hurt you. Especially when I told you that I loved you. It just reminded you of your mom, didn't it?"

"All I ever did was say 'I love you, I love you' over and over again. But Kyo-kun, I'm not your mom. I love you for who you are. I accept the fact that you have an ugly side to you, and I won't deny it."

"I used to wonder, what does Uo-chan have that I don't have? Why did it have to be her and not me?" Kagura paused as she noticed rain dripping down the top of the gravestone. She bent down carefully to adjust the umbrella, which had slipped somewhat from where Tohru had placed it. She continued as she fixed the umbrella. "What was so special about Uo-chan? We were so even. I knew you for so much longer… why was it her?"

Kagura stood up, smiling as she checked with satisfaction that the umbrella now effectively sheltered the gravestone. "I think it was… her ability to love you, but also understand you. She was like your best friend, someone you could trust, someone you could always depend on. She accepted you. She loved you. She protected you."

"And yet, she wasn't like Tohru-chan. When you were around her, you didn't feel like you were being held down, did you? She let you fly as high as you wanted. And you felt comfortable around her. It wasn't like Tohru, where you were afraid that she would fall over or shatter at a simple touch or insult. Uo-chan was strong. She gave you back whatever you gave her, sometimes more. She was strong without being so overly aggressive… like I guess I was."

"I just wanted to protect you, to make sure you never got hurt again. Was the leash I kept you on too tight? Did you want to escape so badly?" Kagura's voice cracked a bit, her hand tightening around the bottom of her umbrella.

"Well, I'm glad you got a chance to be free. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. There were so many times, so much more than I can count, when you got hurt and I couldn't protect you. I tried, as your friend, but it just wouldn't work. _She_ was the one who caused you pain; _she_ was the only one who could protect you. Through all my effort, I only ended up hurting myself…"

"And now, you… you've hurt everyone. Everyone who's ever known you. Kyo-kun… you've hurt us all. Can… can you see our pain? Can you see what we go through every day, trying to deal with the fact that _you're not here anymore_!" Kagura cried out, the tears wandering down her face. "Why don't you just come back! Wake me up, wake us all up, tell me it's all just a dream! I'll wake up someday, and you'll still be _here_! I don't care if you're with her, I don't care if you're locked up somewhere, I just want you to be _here!_"

She couldn't talk now without tasting her tears, so she stopped, letting herself fall to her knees, the umbrella sliding out of her hand to the ground.

_Why?_

_Why… Kyo?_

The graveyard echoed her quiet sobs, magnifying them, chorusing them until it sounded like the world was crying for Kyo. The rain fell harder, crying harder, crying for the lost soul which never should've been lost.

* * *

_"Kyo-kuuuuun!"_

_Kyo didn't even bother to turn around; it could only be Kagura who would barge into his room without asking, especially at a time like this. All he wanted was to be alone. Was that so hard for her to understand? God! "What do you want!" he snapped angrily._

_Kagura smiled faintly. Kyo was exactly how she thought he would be, sitting against the wall, staring out the window into the darkness, without any lights or anything. She knew he was going through a tough time, always wanting to be by himself, always alone… but he just… he just needed some company sometimes. "I just wanted to see you! Is that so wrong?"_

_"Maybe it is."_

_Kagura sighed and went into the room uninvited, sliding the door shut behind her. _

_"Why are you coming in?" Kyo's voice took on an annoyed tone._

_"Why not?"_

_"Leave me alone."_

_Kagura sat down in front of Kyo, knowing it would make him uncomfortable. He tried his hardest to avoid her gaze. "I mean it! Get the hell outta here!"_

_"Kyo-kun? I think… I think you need to stop hiding. You… you need to look at things positively again. Stop bottling up your feelings… it only makes it worse…"_

_"Shut up! No one understands! You can't understand!"_

_Kagura laughed bitterly. "Of course I understand. You of all people should know that."_

_"…" Kyo didn't know how to answer._

_"You're not the only one who feels pain, Kyo-kun. Don't you think she feels pain too?"_

_Kyo growled. "She… she's the one who _broke up_ with me, so why would she be hurt!" There, it was finally out, he finally said it. After a month and a half, he'd finally said it. All that time, it didn't seem real, like it was just a dream, like he'd wake up one day and they'd still be together. But no, they were broken up, over. _

_"You know…" Kagura played with a loose strand of one of the floor mats. "You and Uo-chan… it's so strange. You both love each other so much… but… you're both so stubborn that when you get into a fight, neither one wants to say sorry… even though you might not have meant what you said… and I think that's how Uo-chan feels. I don't think she wanted to break up with you. It was just another fight…"_

_"Yea right." Kyo mumbled. "If that was true, then she'd come back by now."_

_Kagura laughed. "See, see, that's what I mean! You always think the other one's going to come back eventually! It ends up being a stalemate, and you can't get anywhere in the end!" _

"It's not funny." Kyo put a hand to his head. "It was her choice. It's what she wanted." That weird feeling, that damned feeling, where there was an itching in his chest and a stubborn burning in his eyes, it was coming back again. Dammit! "It's her choice… if she needs me or not. It doesn't… it doesn't… matter."

_Kagura couldn't help but smile. Kyo had always been bad at lying._

_"I mean-" Kyo continued, the words coming out automatically, before he could even think to stop talking, "it never would have mattered anyway. We- me and her- we'd never be together anyway. It had to end sooner or later… one way or another…" Kyo brought his other hand to his face, trying to hide, trying to withdraw, trying to block out the light, blocking out all his memories, blocking out everything. "It never would have worked out… I'd never be with her in the end. I can't help her. I can't do anything for her- I can't love her- I can't make this any better- I can't- I never wanted- I never wanted this to happen- I never wanted to hurt her- I never- no- I didn't ask for her to love me- I didn't want her to get hurt- I didn't- I never wanted-" Kyo gasped, the tears coming out unwillingly. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter than they already were, trying to make that damned stubborn fluid go away, trying to stop tasting salt, but it wouldn't stop. That stupid aching in his heart, that annoying whirling in his head, none of it would go away._

_Kagura got up and hugged him gently, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's ok, Kyo-kun…" Tears started to well up in her eyes as well. This close up to him, she could feel the dull throb of his heart, the pain that encircled his soul._

_Kyo didn't try to push her away. He didn't have enough strength to do anything now, except cry. "I never wanted- I never wanted her to love me-" he managed to choke out. "I knew- I knew she'd get hurt- I wanted to save her- I didn't want that for anyone- I didn't want to be a burden for anyone- not Tohru- not you- not her-" his emotions crashed down upon him, washing away his words and splashing his face with more tears._

_Kagura let him cry. This is what he needed, just to let all his emotions out, just to know that someone was there for him. When she'd found out Kyo loved another girl, she'd been the same way too. She'd locked herself up in her room, cursing the day she was born, not letting anyone near her. But she'd realized that it was hopeless. And Kyo helped her realize that. So now she wanted to be there for Kyo._

_When Kyo's crying started to die down a bit, Kagura finally spoke. "Kyo-kun… there's still time before graduation. I think what would hurt Uo-chan most is not being with you now. Like, the fact that you could be together, but you're not. After graduation… I know you don't have a choice. So just make the most of it now… she wants you back… who wouldn't? No matter how much it hurts her… I know she'd never want to take it all back. I mean… you hurt me… but I don't regret loving you. I think it just made me stronger. I'm glad we had those memories… so don't… don't regret anything… don't waste the time you have, Kyo-kun…"_

_What memories? Kyo wondered. Most of his life, he'd treated Kagura like she wasn't worth his time. _

_"I'm sorry." He whispered._

_"What?" Kagura said._

_"I said… I'm sorry, Kagura." Kyo repeated, a little louder._

_"What? I can't hear you." She said innocently._

_"I SAID…" Kyo got up angrily, forcing her to stand up. "…I'm SORRY!"_

_Kagura laughed and hugged him. "I know. I heard you the first time."_

_Kyo growled angrily. What a strange girl. But still…_

_"…thanks."

* * *

_

All she wanted was to see his face again! It didn't matter if he was mad at her. It didn't matter if he hated her. She just wanted to see him happy again! This wasn't supposed to happen! This never should've happened! Not Kyo! Why Kyo!

But crying wouldn't bring Kyo back. Nothing would ever bring Kyo back. But as long as she remembered… Kagura stood up.

As long as she believed…

He'd still be alive, inside all of them. So…

"Kyo-kun…"

...she'd say goodbye.

"…Rest in peace. I hope that you're happy up there. Remember… don't keep everything inside. It's ok to cry… Remember… that we love you."

"Bye, Kyo-kun…"

Kagura walked away from her first love again. But that was ok… because… he'd still live on. Somehow… somewhere…

* * *

A black car pulled up to the curb and rolled to a stop. "You will wait here. I won't take long." The voice commanded, a voice of contempt and condescendence. The driver mumbled a reply.

The owner of the voice stepped out of the car. He was skinny, wearing a kimono, with dark hair and eyes that seemed to follow you wherever you went, with the kind of cool air that gave you chills as you walked by. He took his time walking along casually to his destination. The rain didn't affect him at all. The gloomy skies seemed to pale next to him.

"And so we meet again."

The man stopped. He looked so young, but his eyes showed he had endured more pain, watched and caused more suffering than any aged old man.

"You monster."

His voice like venom, causing anyone who heard it to flinch, instilling a sense of fear into those around him.

"I'm glad you're dead. This world will be a much more… _pleasant_ place without you. It will be less revolting everyday, knowing I will not have to see you."

"You're so disgusting."

"Think of all the pain you have caused everyone." He smiled a cold smile. "It saves me a lot of time. I regret not being able to make you die. I wanted to kill you."

His fists clenched suddenly. His eyes widened as his calm voice suddenly elevated to a wild scream. "Why the hell did you DIE! I wanted to KILL you! I wanted to be the one who would make you SUFFER! Who told you you could DIE! You didn't have permission to die! I never gave you any permission to die! You can't be dead, you hear me! YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO DIE!"

His chest heaving with rage, he pointed a shaking finger at the gravestone. "YOU HEAR ME! YOU'RE DISGUSTING! I CAN'T STAND TO LOOK AT YOU! YOU'RE DISGUSTING! NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE YOU! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU HEAR ME? YOU CAN'T DIE! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!"

His anger bounded all around the graveyard. A lot of wandering souls must have been scared back into oblivion. The rain pounded down harder on his skin, trying to wash away his anger.

"You- you weren't supposed to _die!_" He wasn't screaming anymore, though his voice was still angry, still hateful. It didn't matter how much he yelled or threatened. The plain truth was still there, in front of his glaring eyes: the gravestone still read "Kyo Sohma".

_"It's disgusting."_

_"It's all your fault, Kyo!"_

_"No one will ever love you!"_

_"You're a monster!"_

_"Don't ever try to be friends with Yuki! He's the reason you're like this!"_

_"Your life is so meaningless! The world would be a better place without you!"_

_"You're worthless Kyo, you know that! You're worthless! No one will ever want you!"_

_"They're all lying, can't you see? No one is really your friend! They all hate you!" _

"You're the cat! You're disgusting! You're a monster!"

All the insults, all the torments, all of Kyo's cries of pain, they all came back and echoed inside his head. "Go away!" he screamed. But they wouldn't. They kept reminding him and reminding him.

"You didn't know…" he gasped out."You didn't know…"

* * *

_He smiled maliciously as he surveyed the two bowed before him. One orange head, one blond. One male, one female. Both 'in love' with the other. Both 'happy'. It made him sick. _

_"Well, Kyo Sohma, what do we have here?"_

_Kyo's fists trembled angrily from where they rested in his lap. His hair, hanging over his bowed head, hid the expression of anger and terror mixed into one in his eyes, his teeth gritted. He didn't answer._

_"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" he laughed, sending chills up Uo's spine. _

_"So, you think you can have a little fun behind my back? You know that's not allowed. Don't you remember? You're disgusting. No one will ever love you."_

_"You have no future, you monster. You think you can be 'happy'? I won't let you. You don't deserve it! I won't allow you to have this little… entertainment… with this girl-" He stopped as Kyo stood up abruptly and strode across the room towards him._

_He glared angrily at the cat. "Did I tell you you could get up!"_

_Kyo grabbed him by his collar, knowing he'd pay for it later, but not caring. "Listen to me, you-" he growled angrily. "This girl- Arisa Uotani- is NOT just some entertainment! She's not a little fun, she's not a slut or something, she's not just another girl! She- Uo- is more than I could ever ask for! You always told me no one would EVER love me, but- I mean, even if that's true- it doesn't matter! All that matters is that she cares enough about me, and that's all I need! Even if she or anyone else would never love me, you can't stop me from loving HER! I don't care what you say, dammit! I don't need you bossing me around anymore! You can't tell me, or anyone else, who not to love and who not to be loved by! I won't listen to you! You can't stop me from loving her!"_

_Uo got up as well, and walked over to Kyo. "He's right." she said softly, but her eyes glared with spite at this man in front of them. "You ARE wrong. Anyone can love Kyo. A lot of people love Kyo….I love Kyo. You're wrong." She took Kyo's trembling hand in hers calmly, causing him to relax and drop the dark-haired man._

_He stepped back and pointed at them, shaking with anger. "Get them out! I want them OUT! I DON'T WANT THEM IN HERE! OUT! OUT!" His voice grew hoarse with shouting._

_Kyo walked out, still holding hands with Uo. He stopped in the doorway, looking back at the man. How funny he looked now, how pitiful. This was the man who had tortured him all his life, who he knew still ruled his life, who would eventually find a way to stop his happiness. Kyo opened his mouth as if to speak, but instead turned around and left, Uo close behind him.

* * *

_

"You don't know-" he gasped. "That time- I saw- I realized-"

"I realized- I realized how _stupid_ you were, risking your life for some girl, just because you loved her- you knew you would feel my wrath- you knew- and yet- you still defied me-"

"So I- I made my decision-"

His fingers dug deep into his palm, his nails causing his flesh to rip. He had to say it. When it eventually did come out, it was just a low mumble.

"You were never going to be locked up."

He took a deep breath. It was out now, he should leave now, but he felt he had to say more.

"Don't you realize it! You were never going to be locked up after graduation! You had… you had a _future_! I wanted to give you a _future_! I wanted to see what would happen, when someone so foolishly in love had a future- you weren't supposed to _die!_" He sounded almost helpless.

"You were never supposed to _die_! You were going to have a _future!_ You weren't supposed to _DIE!_" he screamed out, letting the whole world know. "Kyo, you're still supposed to be _ALIVE_!"

As he stood there, gasping for air, breathing hard, weak and fragile from sickness, he didn't know how it happened. And by the time it had happened, it was too late for him to stop it.

He cried.

He cried for Kyo Sohma.

A single tear made its way through all the raindrops and fell onto the gravestone, before he could wipe his face. Was it his imagination, or was the tear not being absorbed by the stone as quickly as the other raindrops?

He stood staring at the gravestone a while longer, unbelieving. Finally he found his voice. "…I hate you!" he yelled angrily. "I'm glad you're dead!" And with those words, he spun around and ran away.

But he didn't really mean it.

He calmed down before he was in sight of the car, and managed to walk casually the rest of the way. He opened the door and got in. "Leave _now_." He commanded, the familiar, unpleasant tone back in his voice.

The driver obeyed, as always.

"Yes, Akito-san."

* * *

Hana stood in front of the gravestone. It was remarkably ordinary and plain, not standing out at all among all the other gravestones in the wide field, but with all the flowers, umbrellas, books, and other things that people had left, it felt so… so…

…so much like _Kyo_.

Hana set down her own flowers- black, of course. She couldn't think of anything else. As she bent down, her mind detected some waves emanating from his grave. Strange- they were so strong, so uncommon among dead people.

_"Living humans are the strongest… the dead do give off waves… but they are very weak… they're drowned out by the strength of the thoughts of the living…"_

And these waves were so clear. They crowded all the other weaker waves out, until it seemed like the only waves Hana could detect were Kyo's.

Were they truly Kyo's waves? Was Kyo truly feeling like this? This sadness, this regret, this chaos, this inferiority, this helplessness, this overpowering _pain_?

"Are you still hurting, Kyo Sohma? Does it still hurt, even though you can't feel physical pain anymore? What is it… the pain of the truck crashing into you, or the pain of your soul?" It was just a metaphorical question, just a question she was asking herself.

But the waves changed.

Hana almost stepped back. Was that… was she dreaming? Did his waves change just now? Was he still _there_? She'd heard of this happening before, but never actually dreamed of experiencing it. This… this other way of communicating with the spirits.

"Kyo…? Are you there?"

And she felt it. She felt him withdraw, almost afraid, lost. He didn't know how to react either, to someone who could see- no, feel- his presence. Then there was a little relief, like he could finally talk to someone he knew. And still, the everlasting pain, the huge wave that lurked behind all the others, the monster which threatened to swallow him up- if it wasn't already too late.

Hana allowed herself a smile. Kyo had always been mysterious in a different way, almost more than Yuki. Even though he never could seem to keep a straight face, and was so easy to read, always unable to control his emotions, there was always something about him… something she could never understand. It was so muddled, so chaotic, she couldn't figure him out. And so he remained a mystery. She liked it like that, it proved amusing to her. This mystery was present in all of the Sohmas, but mostly Kyo and Haru. Ah yes, Haru. But she'd think about that later.

"So… Kyo…" Hana couldn't really think of anything to say. She'd never been one to start a conversation, never mind one with a spirit. She hadn't even known Kyo that well either, just that he was in chaos most of the time. What do you say to a dead friend, anyway? They should have guides to these kinds of things. "…what's being dead feel like?"

The instant the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Curse her mind for letting down her defenses again! She hated it when she talked without knowing it. It meant she still had limited control over herself.

Kyo's denpa became cold, even mocking. She couldn't tell what he was saying, if he was trying to say anything, but she could almost feel him laugh angrily. She should have known better, being dead couldn't be fun for him. Not with the people he left behind.

"I wonder… you must be wishing you were alive again. For all the times you've wished you were dead… you must want to be alive now, more than anything else."

"It's… it's Uo, isn't it? I don't know how you left. I mean… I know you died in a vehicle accident. I don't know how you left _her_. You hanging around here, with such a huge denpa of regret and pain… I'm guessing you left in the wrong way, didn't you? There must be so much you want to take back… so much you want to say… so much you still want to do…"

Hana was hit with a lot of denpa, strong and aggressive. She raised her eyebrows. "Sorry, I can't hear what you're saying. I can't tell her anything for you." The waves hesitated, then retreated sadly.

Hana was silent for a while. It was so strange, trying to talk to someone who she knew was there. If she was just a normal human, not one who could detect denpa, then maybe she could talk to him, like everyone else could. It was so confusing and almost pointless. She wouldn't come away knowing anymore or any less… or would she?

But he was growing impatient, she could tell. Like he knew she wanted to say something, but she wasn't saying it. So… fine, then. She'd speak.

"Do you think… do you think I could have stopped it?"

* * *

_"Haru."_

_Her boyfriend looked up and grinned. "Hey, Hana, what's up?" Normally, she'd smile back, trying to memorize the face of this mysterious boy she was so entranced by, but now she frowned._

_"Something is wrong."_

_He touched her hand slightly and tugged her towards him. "When_ isn't_ something wrong, huh?"_

_She stepped forward to avoid falling on top of him. The last thing she needed now was a cow holding her hand. She almost laughed at this thought, and briefly wondered what it would be like if she really did hug him right now, but her headache reminded her of the reason she came to see him in the first place. "Not with you. It's with… it's Kyo, and Uotani as well. It's both of them. Something's _wrong_. Their denpa's _off

_Haru lifted an eyebrow. "Their denpa's always off, isn't it? You always say that. Maybe you're just picking up his curse again."_

_Hana shook her head. She'd felt the Sohma curse enough times to know that that wasn't the case this time. "From _both _of them? Uotani doesn't have a curse."_

_"Come on, Hana, don't worry about it too much. Maybe they're fighting again." He pulled on her hand again._

_Hana sighed. He had a point. As far as she could remember, from the moment they first met, all Kyo and Uo ever did was fight. "Right, Haru." _

_But she couldn't shake that nagging feeling. Kyo and Uotani's fights never felt like this. This felt like… like something _horrible_ was going to happen._

_Out of the corner of her eye, she briefly glanced at the clock. _

_It was 6:00 PM on January 15.

* * *

_

If she had known… if she had only known, that in six minutes, a truck would crash into Kyo, the truck that would end his life…

"Would it have made a difference?"

Hana's eyes narrowed, her mind tingling with all the denpa she was feeling. So much confusion… so much chaos… were these Kyo's feelings?

Or were they her own?

Yes, but there Kyo's denpa was, the light shining through the clouds. So soothing, so comforting, drowning away the chaos-

Now she understood. He was trying to tell her.

"No, it wouldn't have made a difference."

"No, it wouldn't have… I can't stop fate. I can't stop what must happen from happening…" Hana sighed, relieved at this salvation from her torment. But her feelings… she still felt so _dark_. "I just… I just wish… that this didn't _have_ to _happen_…"

It was so _strange_. Talking to a dead person. But it wasn't just that he was _dead_. She _mourned_ his death. She felt his absence. It affected her. She'd lost a _friend_.

It was so long ago… such a long time ago. She'd always been different from others, always having these special powers. They'd always made fun of her behind her back, but never approached her because they were too scared. Her… uniqueness, as she thought of it, made her an outcast. She was shunned for being herself. It's not like she had any control over it… it was just who she was. It wasn't her fault she had these powers. She never wanted to be dark and scary. It's possible to be psychic and still not be gothic, isn't it? She never intended to be a 'goth', as others would call her. She still wasn't. She was just Saki Hanajima.

And that one boy. He'd always been so innocent… being friends with everyone, no matter who they were. It didn't matter if they were girls or boys… it was back then, when they were too young to know the difference. Even so, the other children on the playground noticed her strangeness, and stayed away from her.

Except for him.

When all the other children would leave the swings when she approached them. When she sat on the swings all by herself, swinging her small little legs back and forth. When she watched all the other children laughing and playing, not even thinking about her. Not even caring that she was alone. He came over.

He came over and talked to her. He showed her how to have _fun_, how to be having fun with other people. He showed her the light in the darkness and all the _right_ in a world that seemed so _wrong_. He showed her what a real friend was like, not the ones that pretended to be your friends and then ran away laughing after they'd made fun of you. He showed her how it felt to be happy around other people. He showed her how to really live in a world like this. He was her first friend. And she was happy.

And then he died.

They said it was an accident. Such a tragic accident. A boy so young, whose life had hardly even started. Never should have died. He just wanted to help, they said. Saw someone getting picked on by a gang. Tried to stand up for the person. Didn't want anyone to get hurt. If they heard right, then the gang just laughed and threw the kid against a wall. The impact killed him. The gang was arrested. But the little boy died. What a sad story, eh? Tell your kids, the moms whispered to each other, watch out for those guys on the corners of the streets.

But they didn't know.

They didn't know how special that boy was. If there were just more of people like him, just a couple more, oh, then what a wonderful place the world would be. So many more people would be happy. So many more people could have felt like her, back on the playground, with her first friend ever, laughing without caring about how strange she was. But he had to die.

And, maybe the worst part was, she knew. She wanted to tell him that morning, don't leave. Please don't leave. Come play with me some more. Tell that joke again. Push me higher on the swing. Build that really cool sand castle again. Show me your new toy. Tell me about the airplanes, the flowers, the plants, everything you know. Don't leave.

But he left. And he died.

It wasn't her fault. She was too small to know. She couldn't have stopped it. But it still killed her inside. That part of her remained hollow. So she decided, maybe having friends was too much _pain_. All they gave you in the end was _pain_. So she grew up not having any real friends. It's not like she _tried_ to avoid anyone. She just didn't try to have any friends. All it was was pain.

So why Tohru?

Was it because she was just like that boy? That first friend she'd ever had?

All she'd hoped, in the back of her mind, was that Tohru wouldn't die someday. Maybe, things would be different this time. Maybe, no one would die this time. She'd know better- she was older, more in tune with her powers. Without knowing it, she gained more friends- Uotani, Kyo, Yuki, Haru, most of the Sohmas that she met. It was easy, it was ok, she thought, she was happy again. Life had meaning. School wasn't just about freaking the heck out of those fangirls or having more teachers edge away from you slowly- it was about seeing your _friends_.

And now Kyo was dead.

A tear slipped out of Hana's eyes. She didn't bother to wipe it away. Why would she hide her feelings now? It was pointless.

But…

"But… it's OK." Hana said loudly, a little confidently, a little unlike herself. "This time… this time I won't make the same mistake."

Kyo questioned her; he was confused. Hana laughed.

"This time… I won't hide. Even if I could… I wouldn't take any of this back. Meeting Tohru and Uotani, meeting all of the Sohmas, meeting that little boy… it's ok. All those times that made me feel like I was just another girl… like I wasn't different… no, I wouldn't take it back. It's _worth_ getting hurt once in a while… just to be able to have those times. And this time… I will still have _friends_. People I care about. People I'll cry about. It's… ok."

And she felt at peace.

Of course, Kyo didn't. His waves were all awkward and such, like he didn't know how to react. Yes, that was the Kyo she knew. She smiled.

"Rest in peace, Kyo. I'm glad I was able to call you a friend." She turned around, her black cape hovering around her as she walked down the path.

Maybe Kyo would meet that little boy in heaven. Maybe, they'd be friends, too. And then Kyo wouldn't be so lonely.

Maybe one day, she'd see that little boy again, too.

And then, maybe, she could finally tell him, "_Thank you_."

* * *

How was it? Please review your honest opinion. It helps. Really. XD I know it was kinda OOC in some places… and the Hana part was especially hard to write… I came up with her past so randomly. It's kinda odd, but I felt like I needed something to write about her… It was hard writing these past few chapters because I felt like I was repeating myself.

If you have any ideas of any scenes you'd like to see between Kyo and Uo, please tell me. I need more ideas.

MoonliteMistress: Thank you very much! Sorry it took so long to update.

Darkheart Wolf of Fire: Thank you...? (Yea I know, I'd be mad if I were a reader too T-T It's all in the crazy part of being an author sometimes...) And of course, there's more chapters. There's a lot more chapters. Just takes a long time. Hi Suki XD

Ariyana: Thanks for reviewing to all my chapters so far! (All that matters is that you review, even if it's late...) As you can see, I put both Kagura and Hana into this chapter! Hopefully it wasn't TOO long... Tell me if anything's OOC. I trust your opinion XD

Arisa-san: Hey! UPDATE YOUR STORY! XD Thanks for reviewing. Keep writing.

Dark-Dreams-69: Thanks for reviewing! I updated my story (finally), now UPDATE YOURS! I hate how you keep leaving me and your fellow faithful readers justhanging there, waiting and waiting! (No I don't do that, what are you talking about...XD) And of course you're loved.

strwbrrccrmlv: Thanks for reviewing! That makes me feel all happy inside...XD

yyhpunk: thank you, and yes, I'm continuing. XD

Akkitora: If you haven't noticed, I'm veeery slow at updating T-T Thank you for reviewing. One of my worst fears is making the characters OOC... it just makes me feel like I'm disgracing them or something. XD

AllyEver: And I love you too! XD It made me cry the first time I thought up the idea. (Kyo dying and everything... waaah!) Thanks for reviewing!

unheard screams: ...thank you. I'm not even sure if I deserve that much praise. And who said you could read my mind? XD

Yea, I use XD a lot. Anyway, once again, please review! I love replying to this many people XD See you next chapter!


	5. Lost Dreams: Uo part 1

Well after an EXTREMELY long delay, here it is: the next chapter.

But before you jump ahead because you've been waiting for SO long, you need to know that this is only **_half_**, and or maybe even less, of the original chapter 5. I cut the chapter in half because I went back and read _Forever_ through again, and I thought, _Screw it, if I was reading this, I'd want to kill me too for not updating._ So you can thank my 1:30-in-the-morning logic. It was extremely long anyway, so I didn't want the length to seem too overwhelming.

The next chapter will also be delayed, but with luck and hopefully a lack of writer's block, I'll be able to finish the story before school starts. (For me, that's Sept. 13)

_-slaps a disclaimer on the story-_ There you go. Here is your long awaited chapter- excuse my crappy writing, since I had severe writer's block and most of this was done at midnight and later.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Lost Dreams- Uo (part 1)**

_"For the last time, I didn't cheat on you, and especially not with a stupid CAT!"_

_"Well that's what it looked like to me! And don't call my cat stupid!"_

_"Are you kidding me, you stupid Yankee! You honestly think that I would cheat on you with a stu- with a cat!"_

_"So now you're calling me stupid?" Uo turned away from Kyo. "So now just one regular girl isn't enough for you, you have to have cat love too?"_

_Kyo clenched his fists. "What the hell are you talking about? I don't even know **how** to cheat, never mind cheat with a damned cat! How is that even possible, anyway!"  
_

_"I guess you just don't love me enough anymore." Uo said quietly, staring at the wall in front of her._

_"Wh-what?" Kyo tried to reach out and touch her shoulder, but she flinched, making him falter and drop his hand. "What?" his voice started breaking._

_Uo turned around and faced him, her eyes downcast, glistening with that salty water Kyo hated so much. "You know, if you... If there's no love… we don't have to…"_

_"Stop talking like that! It's stupid! I…" Kyo was reaching his limits- any farther and he'd break down. "Uo…?"_

_"AHAHAHAHA! GOTCHA!" Uo suddenly burst out, laughing hysterically. "KYON, YOU FELL FOR IT! HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!"_

_"What!" Kyo was speechless at first, then looked around frantically. Yes, there was the calendar- great. What stupid idiot forgot to change the month? Oh wait, no- that would be him. "Aaaagh! I can't believe I just fell for that!"_

_"AHAHAHA! I can't believe you- you actually BELIEVED it! Man, I knew you were dense sometimes, but this-" Uo was cut off by more laughter._

_"Dammit, Uo, don't scare me like that! I thought I was going to lose you again!" He blurted out, then started turning red as he realized what he just said. _

_Uo managed to stop rolling around on the floor with laughter and wrapped her arms loosely around Kyo's neck. "Nah, that was horrible when we were apart." She said, grinning. "I wouldn't break up with you again because you cheated on me with my cat."_

_"But I didn't!"_

_Uo laughed. "I know, I know. Just messing with you."_

_Kyo rested his forehead on hers so that they were looking each other in the eye. Uo observed, with amusement, that there was still some worry in his eyes. "Hey… Uo?" he said hesitatingly._

_"Yea?"_

_"You know… you know I love you, right?"_

_Uo smiled. "I don't know… I'm not sure lately…" she almost started laughing again when a panicked expression surfaced in Kyo's eyes. "…you're going to have to prove it to me." She finished._

_A wave of relief washed over Kyo as he kissed her, his hands on her waist, keeping them so close together that he could feel her body heat but far apart enough to keep him from transforming. And he told her in his kiss, as well as he could, _I love you.

* * *

Another night with no sleep- the realization crossed her mind as she made her way, slowly, down the street. One dream, that's all she had time for, and then she woke up again. It couldn't have been more than one hour of sleep. And when she did sleep, it was always a dream, always a dream about _him_- always a dream that made her feel like he was still here, like he'd appear on the street in front of her right now, saying, _'You stupid Yankee, you really I think I'd die because of a little fight we had? You really think I'd get killed crossing the street?'_

But she'd _seen_ him leave her, running, running away. She'd seen the casket get lowered in the ground, just a little heavier with the weight of a body inside. She'd seen the dirt get thrown over, the headstone secured in place for all eternity. And a part of her felt like she'd seen him _die_.

The rain pounding down on her unprotected self forced her to snap out of her reverie, just barely preventing the onslaught of tears, the same onslaught she'd let loose so many times while hiding in the darkness of her room. She'd cry and cry, and then when she finally stopped, she'd cry some more. Death by dehydration- a wonderful way to go.

_But if you died… maybe you'd see him again…_

Uo suddenly realized where she was standing: a sidewalk before an intersection. And she knew that it wasn't just any intersection. Sure, there was no proof anymore- the road crew had tried their best to clean it all up, and the rain washed the rest away- but this is where she had lost her best friend, her boyfriend, the one who held her glass heart in his hands and dropped it to the ground, a little to the left of the center of the intersection, letting it fall, letting it crash into a million pieces, so that her heart could never be put back together ever again.

She was pushed along with the rest of people trying to cross the street, all in a hurry to get wherever they were going, just trying to get out of that persistent rain, raining for almost six days now, ever since-

Uo didn't even want to think anymore. That's right, she had places to go too- she couldn't linger around this intersection. She wouldn't collapse in the middle of the road, crying her heart out, her shattered heart that lay on the ground a few feet away from her, in the middle of the invisible blood and the vanished tire tracks.

So she kept walking, not looking, not looking back, not looking _there_. There was a thought in the back of her mind, to go back, throw herself into the road in _that spot_, and die, maybe even by a truck, too, just like him- just so she could feel what he'd been through. Just so she could see him again.

But she kept walking.

* * *

_"GET OUTTA THE WAY!"_

_As if the voice was Moses, the sea of people on the sidewalk dispersed onto the sides, leaving a clear path wide open- except for one obstacle._

_"Hey, Kyon, where are you going so fast?" Uotani asked casually, sticking out a foot._

_Kyo, rushing through the path at the speed of light, never saw Uo's foot and tripped over it. But he didn't just trip over it, he started falling, tried to catch himself, and ended up doing several painful somersaults before crashing to a stop against a brick wall._

_"Rushing isn't good for you, you know?" Uo said, peering down at the bloody form of the hot tempered guy who lived in the same house as her best friend. "Rush too much and you'll get hurt."_

_"DAMMIT, YANKEE, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR? YOU COULDA KILLED ME! ARE YOU STUPID?" Kyo yelled angrily, scrambling to his feet, shaking a fist at her._

_"Your head's bleeding. Why are you in such a hurry, anyway?"_

_"Dammit, now I probably lost them! This is all your fault, damn Yankee!"_

_"What's my fault?"_

_"That damn r- that damn bastard- Aaaagh, I'll kill him! Running off with Tohru like that, going who knows where, who knows what he'll do to her! I'll kill him!" Kyo raged, drawing the attention of slightly freaked out pedestrians and some police officers._

_"Ooooh, so this is about Prince Charming and Tohru, huh? Jealous much, Kyon?" Uo teased him._

_"I'm not JEALOUS!"_

_"Kyon, they've been going out for like, a month now. You think you'd get used to it or something. _Normal _couples do go on dates, ya know."_

_"SHUT UP, YANKEE! I don't need you to tell me that! I HATE YOU!"_

_"Hey, what's going on over here!" A police officer started marching towards them. "You're not harassing her, **are** you?" he glared at Kyo accusingly._

_"Me harass **her**? Are you crazy? She's not worth harassing!"_

_"Hey, don't talk to a police officer or a girl like that! I think you've got problems, kid!" The police officer started coming even closer._

_"I think YOU'RE the one who's got-" Kyo was cut off when someone's hand clamped his mouth shut and dragged him away. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" He said as best as he could, his voice muffled by the hand._

_"Trying to prevent you from getting arrested." Uo said, grinning. "I wouldn't mind if you got arrested, but then I'd have no one to make fun of at school."_

_"I hate you, Yankee!"_

_"At least the feeling's mutual." Uo rounded a bend, accidentally (well, kind of accidentally) smacking Kyo into the corner. Behind her, she could hear the voice of the police officer yelling "Get back here!" "I've been waiting for an excuse to do this." Uo muttered to herself, smirking in anticipation. She turned to Kyo. "Ready to fly?" _

_"What are you-!"_

_"Here we go!" Uo took his hand with both of her hands and threw him over the wall surrounding the garden. When he landed on the other side with a loud crash followed by "Damn that hurt!" she jumped over, landing neatly on the other side next to Kyo, just as the officer came around the corner. He kept running, running past them._

_"Aaaah, that was fun! I haven't had that much fun with a police officer in a long time!" Uo laughed._

_"In a long time…? You've messed with the police before? You're a real Yankee, aren't you?"_

_"Damn straight, Kyon. Aren't you in pain?"_

_"Yes, and it's all your fault! Landing on a stupid, spiky bush plant thing is not my idea of fun!"_

_Uo laughed. "That's ok. We'll make a memorial for your heroic scars resulting from battle. That way, it won't be all for nothing!" She pulled a small switchblade out of her skirt pocket, making Kyo twitch and back away slightly. Uo laughed at his reaction and shrugged. "A girl's gotta be prepared, especially if it wasn't you who was harassing me and it was some old pervert instead." She started scratching something on the bricks._

_"I wasn't harassing you! And isn't that vandalism?"_

_"So? These bricks are public property. It's fine. Everyone does it, and no one cares. Besides, this is a memorial. It's honorable, not just some graffiti." _

"Damn, you're weird."

_Uo didn't answer him, as she concentrated on carving the brick. "OK, done. Here it is: 'Kyon-chan's wounds of battle are the scars of a hero! Kyon-chan and Uo's amazing journey of justice of XX, XX, 20XX. Memorialized forever!' Isn't it beautiful?"_

_"…you just pulled an 'Ayame'." Kyon said, his eyebrow twitching. "And trust me, that's not a compliment."_

_Uo shrugged. "No pleasing the cat king, is there?"_

_"Cat…? WHAT?"_

_"Better get home and do your homework, huh, Kyon? Don't want to fail class, now do we? Stop wasting time chasing after Tohru!"_

_"Look who's talking!"_

_"I already finished my homework." _

"WHAT?"

* * *

Uo smiled faintly. Now that she thought about it, a detour wasn't exactly a bad idea. Her mind subconsciously decided that a delay was what she needed.

_The longer I don't have to see… it… again, the longer I won't have to believe it… the longer I can believe that it's all just a dream… a nightmare… I'll wake up soon…_

She walked into the gate, her feet on auto pilot, knowing where she wanted to go. After a little while, not minding that the soggy grass was soaking into her shoes, she stopped and bent down. Her fingers traced over the worn indents in the brick. "_'Kyon-chan's wounds of battle are the scars of a hero! Kyon-chan and Uo's amazing journey of justice of XX, XX, 20XX. Memorialized forever!'" _She whispered slowly to herself. 5 months before she would find out about his curse. 5 months for him to forget Tohru, and 5 months for her to fall in love with him.

Her fingers traced over a small part again. "_Kyon-chan and Uo…_" her finger slowly moved to a word in the next line, right next to the two names."…_forever…_"

Suddenly a small, brightly colored ball tumbled to a stop at the grass at her feet. She looked around her and saw a small boy running towards her, followed by a young girl. "Excuse me, miss, could you pleeeease give me that ball?" The boy asked as he stopped in front of her, panting for breath.

Uo picked up the ball, still in some sort of a crouching position, so that she was about their height. "Here's your ball. What are you two doing out here, playing in the rain?" she asked.

The girl grinned at her. "Cuz it's more fun when the grass is all slippery, cuz then we can slide like sha-vooom!" she motioned with her arms to illustrate what she meant.

The boy nodded. "Also, there's no one out here in the rain, so we have more room to ourselves… and the big mean kids won't pick on us and take our ball." He took the ball from Uo and smiled. "Thanks, nice lady! Let's go, Aya!"

* * *

_Kyo and Uo watched the little kids run off with their ball. "They're so cuuuute, aren't they, Kyon?" Uo said, swinging their linked hands between them as they walked through the park. It wasn't often Kyo let her hold his hand in public. Then again, it wasn't often Uo wanted to show off her PDA skills._

_"I hate little kids." Kyo muttered, turning his gaze away from where the kids were playing._

_"You don't really mean that, do you?" Uo laughed. "Kyon- I know you love little kids."_

_"I do not have such a sissy weak spot for those brats!" Kyo yelped._

_"It's ok." Uo smiled. "I love little kids. I wonder… one day…"_

_A troubled look crossed Kyo's face, but Uo didn't see it. He knew what she wanted to say. He held her hand tighter. "Hey- ice cream! You want ice cream, Uo?" he said quickly, trying to change the subject. _

_"Sure." Uo replied absently, as she stopped walking, still watching the little kids run around without a care in the world. Kyo didn't try to move to go get ice cream, even though Uo knew that something about her mention of kids bothered Kyo. They stood silently, their fingers intertwined together, but an invisible wall keeping them apart._

_Maybe one day, some day later, she could tell him, 'I wonder, one day, if we'd have kids like that too…?'

* * *

_

Uo found her way back to the main road. She could still hear faint sounds, the girl laughing, the boy's yell as he tried to catch the ball.

_It was stupid… It was a stupid thought…_

"Hey, Yankee!" a shout came from behind her.

Uo suddenly became alert and spun around, her heartbeat quickening, her heart falling, knowing it was impossible. One of the girls in her class came running up to her, and Uo tried not to show any betraying emotion. She tried not to show that she, for a fleeting second, had thought that it could've been someone else, that for a quick moment, the breath had caught in her throat-

"Hey, Uotani." The girl came to a stop. It was one of those back-of-the-room girls, the ones that didn't really make fun of her but still stayed away from her and knew her as a Yankee. "Hey-" there was worry in the girl's eyes. "-I just wanted to say- you know-" now that the girl was here, she didn't know how to say what she felt.

"It's… ok." Uo said, doing her best to give her a small smile. She started to walk away.

"No- Uotani, look, I'm- I'm just really sorry about everything. I'm sorry about the way I- the way we all- treated you, and I just wanted to say, you know, sorry… about…" the girl looked down. "Sorry about… Kyo…"

Uo nodded in silence. She wouldn't answer- but the girl understood. If Uo tried to say anything- anything about _that_- especially the way she was now, she'd collapse to the street, crying. Crying so her tears would flow into the gutters like the rain. Uotani watched as the girl gave a small wave, said something, and ran off again.

As Uo turned forward to resume her path, she spotted another girl walking towards her. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she kept walking, looking ahead. When the other girl passed her, she said, "Uotani."

Uotani relaxed a little. "Kirihara."

The other girl bowed her head slightly as she kept walking. "Sorry." The word floated to Uotani's ears as she nodded, acknowledging the remark.

When Kirihara was gone, Uo almost wanted to laugh. So that's what it took for everyone to be nice to her, huh? To suffer so much pain. Kirihara was a former gang member, one of the ones who strongly opposed Uotani dropping out of the gang. She'd beat her up that day, and she still held a grudge against her… she'd even tried to attack Uo again…

* * *

_Uo walked along the street, her schoolbag flung casually over one shoulder. "Wonder if the old man's eaten dinner yet." She commented to herself, then sighed. "Nah, knowing him, he's too much of a lazy ass to cook anything himself. I should go get some rice- I think we're out." She looked up at the darkening sky, groaning. "Damn, it's getting late. I guess I'll have to use the shortcut." She turned sharply from the main road and headed down a dark alley, running._

_Uo had just made her way past the middle of the intricate web of alleys when a voice rang out in front of her. "Well, if it isn't Uotani!"_

_Uo slowed down to a walk. Ahead of her, she could see a group of girls, given a sinister look from the evening's purple haze. Her annoyance level started to rise. Today was not a good day for an encounter. "What do you want… Kirihara?"_

_"Uotani, you bitch! We'll never forget what you did-"_

_"What, you mean leaving all this crap behind and getting a better life, where I might actually stay alive?" Uo shot back._

_"No! I mean leaving us behind for those goody-goodies! It's so STUPID! How can you STAND being around those people?"_

_"How can you stand making yourself suffer so much?" Uo said calmly, her voice tinted with the slightest bit of impatience. "You're the ones who are stupid- wasting your life."_

_"Shut up, bitch! You're asking for it!" Kirihara motioned to her small gang, and they approached Uotani._

_"I don't want to fight you." Uotani said loudly._

_"Who cares?We'll just beat you up! It doesn't matter!" They attacked her, punching her, pulling her hair, beating her with whatever lay on the ground- rocks, lead pipes, dirt. Uo protected herself as well as she could, using her bookbag on several occasions to protect herself. _

Dammit._ Uotani thought, wincing as another blow made contact with her skin. _I'm having trouble fighting them off.This is why I don't use this shortcut when I'm by myself.

_"HEY! What the hell's going on here?" A voice yelled as the person approached. The girls stopped momentarily. He came to a stop as he saw the familiar blond hair of Uotani, trying to defend herself without hurting anyone too badly. "What the hell are you doing, Yankee, letting yourself get beat up so badly?"_

_Uo growled. "Shut your face, Orange Top. You can't fight girls anyway, you wimp."  
_

_Kyo twitched. "What'd you just say, Yankee? I'll beat you up for that!"_

_"Hey, punk, stay outta this!" Kirihara yelled. "This is between us and the bitch. Get outta here or else!"_

_"Catfights disgust me." Kyo walked towards them. "Catfights disgust me almost as much as a whole gang picking on one person does. That's not something to be proud of- if it takes a whole crowd of chick gangsters to bring this Yankee down." _

_"H-hey, I'm warning ya! Get away from here! Run away!"_

_"Yea, yea, I'll leave once I take her with me." Making a run for it before anyone, including Uotani, had a chance to be surprised, Kyo grabbed Uo's hand and ran as fast as he could._

_"Damn you, stupid orange punk, get back here!" They ran through a series of passages, Kyo having to double track when he started getting lost, and had to fight in self defense as they made their way through. At one point, the girls had him cornered, when he hesitated to block a punch. "Looks like it's the end of the line for you, stupid orange head." Kirihara growled. "Get outta the way. I'll deal with you later." One of the girls pushed Kyo to the side, so that Uo was surrounded. Kirihara nodded at her gang, and they bent down, smiling sinisterly, as they picked up sharp rocks of the ground._

_Kyo's eyes widened as he realized what they were doing. _You're kidding me.

_Some of the girls grabbed Uotani by her arms and pinned her up against a wall, making her struggles futile. She gritted her teeth_. Dammit! It just had to be today that I'm at my weakest, from lack of sleep or food… it just had to be today that _Orangey_ has to come to my rescue… this is so _pathetic_… ugh!_ She shut her eyes tightly and lowered her head as far as she could, not being able to protect herself with her arms. _

_"Alright, I've always wanted to say this…" Kirihara grinned evilly. "FIRE AT WILL!"_

_The rocks flew through the air, each one aimed straight at Uo with deadly accuracy._

_But the blood that hit the ground wasn't Uotani's, nor was the body which the rocks bounced off of._

_Uo opened her eyes upon feeling no impact and stared in disbelief. "You…. Why…?"_

_Kyo shook his head. "Some other time. But right now, we get out of here." He glared at Kirihara, and the rest of her gang, who stood gaping at him, and exploded. "HEY! NOW YOU MADE ME MAD! THAT HURT, DAMMIT! I'M SO GONNA GET YOU ALL ONE DAY! I SHOULD JUST BEAT YOU ALL UP RIGHT NOW! FEAR ME, YOU CHICK GANGSTERS, AND DON'T THROW ROCKS AT ME OR THE YANKEE AGAIN! AHAHAHAHA!" Uo sighed as she ended up dragging Kyo away, running as fast as she could to avoid the gang when they realized how they'd been insulted._

_Finally, Kyo and Uo made their way to the top of a grassy hill in the park, and the cries of the gang died out. They both collapsed on the grass, panting for air._

_"Damn, Yankee, what'd you do to deserve that?" Kyo said, finally calming down and groaning as one of his bruises got rubbed the wrong way. _

"The right thing." Uo answered seriously, sitting up after a while to inspect her injuries.

_Kyo studied her for a while, his eyes traveling over her slender form, until he felt his face growing warm and quickly looked away. _Why am I getting so… flustered?_ He berated himself. _I'm just checking if she's hurt or something… yea! That's it…

_Silence fell between them as they looked over their wounds. Finally, Uo spoke. "Hey…. Kyon?"_

_"…what?" Kyo suddenly came out of his thoughts._

_"This is gonna sound pathetic, but… thanks." Uo muttered._

_Kyo's face flushed again, and he prayed that the pinkish purple glow from the setting sun would cover for him. "No problem- just… covering for your weaknesses."_

_"What? That's what I get for thanking you? Kyon, you're so getting it!" Uo punched Kyo in the face._

_"Oooooowww!" Kyo fell backwards, holding his face._

_"What, did that actually hurt? That was weak, Carrot head- I think you're losing your macho-ness!" Uo teased._

_"It does not hurt!" Kyo protested, but as he touched the still-bleeding cut made by a rock, he flinched noticeably, biting down on his lip._

_Uo's eyes gave a flicker of concern. "Hey- Kyon, that really does hurt, doesn't it?"_

_"No…" Kyo held his face, looking away from her._

It's my fault, isn't it? My fault he got hurt… he was hurt because of me. _Uo touched the hand covering his cheek. "Sorry." She whispered._

_Kyo looked at her in surprise, his hand falling from his face. "What?" he said, the pain in his face suddenly disappearing._

_Or maybe that was just because her lips were there._

_Kyo's eyes widened. He wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out._

_Uo drew back, but Kyo could still feel the tingling on his cheek, sending chills throughout his body. His face burned. "Wh…"_

_Uo smiled. "They say that if you kiss a wound, it'll feel better."_

If that's true… then I want to kiss all your wounds._ A small voice piped up in the back of Kyo's head, but he squashed the thought. Instead, he slapped himself in the forehead, an action he instantly regretted when the bruise he sported there throbbed in protest. _

_"…Just kidding!" Uo said triumphantly, slapping Kyo across the face right where she had kissed him. She laughed. Instant remedy for awkward moments- at least reading those girly magazines wasn't _totally_ useless._

_Kyo fell back again, holding his cheek and pointing at her, his arm fluctuating up and down wildly. "OOOOW! Dammit, Yankee, you bitch! What the hell! Stop doing that already!"_

_"We'll now embark on the journey for RICE!"_

_"Don't ignore me, damn Yankee!"

* * *

_

She hadn't been too bothered by Kyo saving her that day- maybe she was tired, or hungry, or something, but she hadn't seemed to mind. Which was weird, if you thought about it- being able to stand up for herself was something she took seriously, and she didn't like it when she felt like she owed someone something. And the fact that the inferiority complex she normally felt when someone tried to help her only grew more and more didn't make their relationship any easier. In fact, they'd almost given up on their relationship once because of her complex. But… she didn't like thinking about those times… what had that writer guy called them? Oh yeah… the 'Dark Ages'.

But those were painful times, and these were painful times. It wouldn't do to think of both. It wouldn't help her. It would just kill her inside all over again, like it had every day since the rain started falling.

She gripped the jacket around her more tightly, trying to conserve her warmth. It was cold here.

She missed feeling Kyo's body just being next to her, his warmth, his smile, his radiance giving her comfort like his hug never could. Sure, she didn't want to accept the fact that she'd never be able to hug him, that she could never feel all of his body pressed up against hers, and she even got frustrated and threw stuff across the room sometimes- but it was ok, because having him just be there with her, it more than made up for a lack of a hug- it made her feel like she was worth something. Like she was needed. Like all Kyo needed was her, and then he'd be happy. And making someone happy was all she ever wanted to do.

So now that he was gone, she wondered if she'd ever be warm again.

* * *

_"Oi, Kyon!" Uo walked into their homeroom. She'd missed the later half of that day for some weird reason, and the only thing Kyo learned that afternoon was how _boring _class could be without a certain ex-gangster making fun of him._

_Kyo turned around and grinned, despite his former bad mood. "Hey, Yankee!" Abruptly, Kyo stopped mid-wave, suddenly realizing what he sounded like and wondering why he looked and felt so happy to see _her_, of all people. He changed his tone of voice and the expression on his face quickly, hoping no one would notice. "Ah- what do you want? Where the hell you been, anyways? You joining your gang and skipping school again?"_

_Uo laughed, partly due to his questions and mostly due to his unsuccessful attempt at hiding his feelings. _Really, he can be so stubborn sometimes. _"Places, things…" she replied airily, waving her hand about to dismiss his inquiries."Hey, you doing anything after school?"_

_The orange-head gave her a strange look. "Not really… why?" he answered tentatively._

_"Sweet!" Uo beamed. "Then you can go get ice cream with me!"_

_Kyo stared at her like she'd just grown three heads and some more eyes to go along with them. "Are you crazy?"_

_"No, I just like ice cream."_

_"In December?"_

_"Yea, why not? What, you too much of a wimp to eat ice cream in December?"_

_"I never said that! Just for that, I'm gonna come!" It never occurred to Kyo that you can't really be much of a wimp by refusing to eat ice cream._

_Uo flashed a "V" sign before telling Tohru where they were going and dragging him out the door, right as the bell rang, signaling dismissal._

_All the way to the ice cream store (Uo insisted on going to her favorite one, a good twenty minutes away) the two engaged in a bout of light bickering, mostly concerning Kyo's lack of warmth and Uo's lack of compassion for him. Laughter and shouting could be heard, mixing in with the bustle of everyday December traffic. Kyo wondered out loud at one point why it was just him and her going to get ice cream, and Uo had to explain to him that Tohru had work, Hana didn't particularly enjoy ice cream, and Yuki was being dull again, so she was stuck with Kyo. Kyo decided not to ask her why she even bothered to come, then, if she disliked being stuck with him so much- she'd found a partly frozen switchblade on the ground, and was currently in the process of totally freaking Kyo out._

_Uo and Kyo finally reached the ice cream place, much to the relief of Kyo, who rushed inside to take advantage of the more than sufficient heating inside the store. Unsurprisingly, there wasn't a huge line, and the store smelled of chocolate chip cookies and other freshly baked goods- a business can't survive solely on ice cream if it plans on being open year-round._

_"Hey, Kyon, what flavor do you want?"_

_"?" Kyo turned from the display rack of Christmas events he was looking at. "What do you mean, flavor?"_

_"Yes, Kyon, you heard me, flavor. That's what they call different types of ice cream these days. Choose a flavor, any flavor!" Uo flourished at the board hanging above the register._

_Kyo tried to hide his embarrassment at being caught when he wasn't paying attention and chose whatever sounded good. "Hm… chocolate chip cookie dough, I guess."_

_Uo raised an eyebrow. "Heh, you too?" She turned to the worker. "Two chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cones, please." She handed him the money and turned back to Kyo. "Didn't know you liked that flavor."_

_"I've never had it before."_

_"Really?" Uo shrugged. "It fits you."_

_"How can an ice cream flavor fit me?"_

_"It's chocolate chip cookie dough, right? The main flavor is vanilla, it's pretty obvious, so it seems like the ice cream's not hiding anything." The cashier tapped her on the shoulder, and Uo took the two ice creams, saying a quick "Thank you" and handing one cone to Kyo._

_"And your point?"_

_Uo licked her ice cream a little, then took a bite as they walked out the door. She smiled. "It seems like just vanilla ice cream, but then there are those little cookie dough chunks, buried deep inside. And when you find them, they're nice and sweet." It took Kyo a minute to understand, and when he did, a faint blush colored his cheeks. _

_Uo laughed a little and continued. "And then there's the chocolate chips. They… they hold a lot of mystery, because you never know when they're going to appear… and it's almost like the vanilla ice cream is hiding them… like little secrets…" Uo turned to look Kyo straight in the eye, and Kyo had the feeling that Uo wasn't thinking about ice cream anymore._

_"Tch! How stupid…" Kyo muttered, looking away. _As long as she doesn't know about the _Sohma_ secret, it's fine. _"Then the same goes for you, huh?"_

_"Yup." Uo smiled mysteriously, and Kyo decided to leave it at that and continue eating his ice cream._

_After a long silence, Kyo thought out loud, "Mmm… that _was_ pretty good."_

_"What was pretty good, our date?" Uo said, meaning it to be a joke._

_But Kyo was caught off guard. A rapid blush crossed his face, as he stared at her. "D-Date?"_

_"Haha, just kidding." Uo said, sticking her tongue out at him, but an awkward pause followed, as they stood looking at each other, just remembering…_

_XXXXXXXX_

_It was just three weeks before, maybe a little sooner, when it happened._

_"Get away from me!"_

_"Hey, it's raining out there!" But Kyo didn't even hesitate as he stomped out into the rain after her. "You wanna get sick or something?"_

_"You mean sicker than I already am?" Uo said bitterly, ignoring the rain pouring down on her head, ignoring the sharp raindrops drumming into her skin. _

_"Stop being stupid!" Kyo caught up with her, matching her fast stride. "What's your problem?"_

_"What's yours?" She shot back, glaring at him. Kyo was taken aback by the expression in her eyes. For a moment, he wasn't even sure if it was rain or her own tears dripping down her face._

_"God, why are you like this?" Kyo said angrily. "I- I just want to help!"_

_"Since when do you care, Kyo?" Uo replied sharply, her voice cracking slightly. She bit her lip, hoping he hadn't heard that. But he had._

_"Dammit, Yankee!"_

_"Well, if I'm such a Yankee, why are you hanging around me? Why aren't you disgusted just like everyone ELSE?"_

_Kyo figured it out now. She'd been weird ever since this morning, ever since she had that run-in with those street punks the night before. He'd figured she was tough enough to handle it on her own, he hadn't thought twice about it. Had they done something? Had they-_

_"Oh, shit. Yan- Uo, what the hell happened last night?"_

_Uo glanced quickly at Kyo, then stared straight ahead, not knowing where she was going. "Stupid pervert." She laughed sarcastically. "It's not that."_

_Kyo was getting frustrated. "Then what? This is stupid, Uo! You can't get all spastic on me and then not tell me why the hell you are!"_

_"Well you don't have to know, now do you? Why can't you just leave me alone? I don't need you here! Not right now!" she started running, running as fast as she could, running away from him._

_"Dammit!" Kyo muttered, then tried to catch up with her. "Uo, stop it!"_

_"No!" she didn't even look back. What was the use? She couldn't see anyway. Wet strands of hair flew into her face, her sight a blur anyway._

_A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She was suddenly staring into the face of Kyo Sohma. "Stupid Yankee!" he shouted. "Are you trying to kill yourself?" A few feet behind her, a car horn blared. Uo studied his face; he wasn't mocking her. _

_He cared about her._

_But she rejected him. She pulled her arm out of his grasp. "I don't need you." She said. "I don't need you."_

_Kyo's eyes glowered at her. His red eyes stood out against the dreary setting, all blues and blacks, but his eyes burning at her. "You can't say that. You need someone. You need someone who can help you."_

_"You're not making sense. I have friends, if that's what you mean. Two whole friends. Lucky me." She flung back sarcastically._

_Kyo bristled at this. "Oh, so now all of the sudden I don't count!" he grabbed her by her shoulders, noticing she was avoiding his eyes. "I know you have Tohru and Hanajima! But you know what, that isn't enough! Everyone understands different things, and they don't understand everything you're going through!"_

_"Oh, and you think you can understand me?"_

_"Yea, I think I can!"_

_"Well, who said I WANTED you to understand?" Uo tried to draw back, but he still had a hold on her. She started struggling. "Let go of me!"_

_"I'm not letting go!" Kyo yelled, pissed. "Why won't you give anyone a chance? It's like you won't trust anyone anymore!"_

_"Maybe I don't! Let go of me!" All of the sudden, Kyo did seem incredibly strong. After all the times they had come out even, now, he seemed to be dominating. And he hated the rain. Now how was that possible?_

_"Dammit, Uo! I am never letting go!"_

_And just like that, he kissed her._

_It took Uo a couple seconds for her brain to register that Kyo was actually kissing her. This was the same guy who said he could never hug anyone. _

_Why?_

_After a little longer, Kyo drew back. Even in the dark gloom, Uo could tell his face was red. He quickly let go of her and his arms returned to his sides. Now he was the one avoiding her eyes. The silence between them was like a brick wall._

_Uo smashed it down. "Why?" she whispered._

_The short, simple question hung in the air. It hung there for what seemed like forever._

_X_

_Kyo never answered the question. They never mentioned what had happened again. Had it changed anything? Or maybe the question was, was that when it all started changing? Was that when they finally started to open their eyes, to accept what was happening between them? Either way, the wall was there now. It was like window glass-- thin, see-through, and they were able to hear through it- but they couldn't reach each other completely. There were those unspeakable words hovering above them now, those forbidden subjects. _

_And yet, they kept finding a way to surface again._

_XXXXXXXX_

_"Ah, Uo-chan, Hana-chan! Welcome, welcome! Please come in- you must be cold! I'm so sorry for making you wait in the cold! A-Ah- I'll take your coats- um, I'll get you some drinks in a second- oh no, was that a crash! Not again! Ah- um- uh-" _

_Hana laid a hand on Tohru's shoulder to stop her from running back and forth frantically before them. "Tohru… please… calm down. It'll be ok."_

_Tohru sighed, then stood up straight and stared determinedly at the ceiling, her hands balled into fists. "OK then! I'll do my best to make this the best Christmas party for everybody!"_

_"That's the way, Tohru! Now, can we come in now?" Uo said, grinning._

_"AAH! I'M SO-"_

_"Oh great, you're already here." Kyo complained as he came down the stairs._

_"Same to you, Kyon, except you live here. Ah, life isn't always perfect, is it? You gotta take the bad with the good." Uo shrugged and started to walk away._

_Kyo jumped the rest of the stairs to run after her. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"_

_"Exactly what it sounds like, Neko-chan!"_

_"Shut up with the neko! Neko this, neko that! Just 'cause you found out about that stupid curse two weeks ago—"_

_"Neko neko neko, bakaneko!'_

_"GET BACK HERE YANKEE!"_

_Yuki sighed as he walked down the hall towards Tohru, effortlessly sidestepping the mad dash of Kyo and Uo. Hana had just excused herself; she'd spotted Yuki a minute or two earlier, that and the coincidental sighting of a certain boy with black and white hair. "There's no hope for a quiet moment at all now, is there?" He said hopelessly, raising a hand to his forehead. "I can feel the headache coming on already…"_

_"Yuki-kun, it won't be so bad. It'll be fun! We don't all come together like this very often- I mean, Shigure-san, Kyo-kun, Hatori-san, Ayame-san, Kagura-chan, Hatusharu-kun, Momiji-chan, Rit-chan-san, Hiro-kun, Kisa-chan, Uo-chan, Hana-chan, Yuki-kun, and me- I think it's a great time to strengthen our relationships!"_

_"And cause more destruction to Shigure's house." Yuki muttered to himself, thinking of Kagura, Kyo, and Uotani in the same room, but laughed it off. "Of course, Tohru-san."_

_X_

_Uo climbed up the ladder effortlessly and jumped lightly onto the roof. "Hey Orange Top, what are you doing out here in the cold?"_

_"Getting away from everyone down there!" Kyo growled, gesturing madly. "I mean, having Kagura here is bad enough, and I'm surprised I'm not DEAD yet, but there's that stupid Haru, who knows when he'll go Black, and Hiro's being a brat again, Momiji's so damn ANNOYING, Ritsu's being all end-of-the-world as usual, Shigure and Ayame are being extremely stupid, Yuki's being a perfect prince, and Shishou couldn't even come! It sucks!"_

_"You must love your family a lot." Uo said sarcastically, sitting down next to him._

_"Yea, right." Kyo scoffed, but after a moment his angry expression softened a bit. "I mean, they're not all that bad… sometimes… but…"_

_"Aw, how cute." Uo ruffled Kyo's hair, laughing when she heard him growl and almost purr at the same time. "It really is cold, though."_

_"Then go inside! Why are you out here, anyway!" Kyo turned to face her._

_"Good question." Uo bit her lip in concentration, then hit the roof with her fist, making Kyo jump. "Oh yeah! Tohru wanted me to tell you that it's time to eat!"_

_"Why didn't you just say that before?"_

_"Because you looked like you needed to talk to someone. Now let's go, or they're gonna eat all the food!" Uo grabbed Kyo's hand and pulled him towards the ladder._

_"And whose fault would that be?" Kyo shouted, the blush on his face hidden in the darkness._

_"Less complaining, more hustle! Food, food, food! Tohru-chan's Christmas special! Mmm, can't wait!" Uo said excitedly, practically pushing Kyo over the side of the roof before jumping down herself. _

_"At least you're not hungry enough to be in a bad mood this time." Kyo muttered._

_Uo whirled around and kicked him, hard. Kyo yelped. "What was that, Kyon?"_

_"N-nothing…"_

_"Good, good—food, food! What are ya waiting for, orange-top? Let's go, let's go!"_

_"YOU go faster, Yankee!" _–whack- _"Ow what the heck gimme that stick!"_

_X_

_"FOR THE LAST TIME, IT'S NOT!"_

_"YES, IT IS!"_

_"NO!"_

_"YES!"_

_"NO, YOU DAMN YANKEE, THE GUY IN THAT CHOCOLATE FACTORY MOVIE IS **NOT** PLAYED BY JOHNNY WHATS HIS FACE!"_

_"YES, IT IS! IF YOU'RE TOO STUPID TO EVEN REMEMBER A NAME, THEN THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE RIGHT!"_

_"WELL HOW WOULD YOU REMEMBER IT, YOU'RE BLOND!"_

_"IT'S CALLED HAIR DYE, ORANGE TOP!"_

_"Uh-uh, you two, I think you've got it mixed up. That's not what you're supposed to do there." Shigure said, wagging his finger back and forth at them, conveniently stopping them from strangling each other right then and there._

_"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, STUPID DOG?"_

_"Oh, Kyo-chan! Such rude manners! I'm appalled!"_

_"LIKE YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!"_

_"No, no! You're doing it all wrong! You've got to get a little closer, and instead of such crude _screaming_ in each other's faces-"_

_"WHAT-"_

_"That, Kyo-chan! Don't tell me you didn't notice it!" Shigure pointed at the ornament hanging above them in the frame of the entrance to the hall. _

_Kyo stared blankly at the object above him, his expression one big question mark. "What about that thing?"_

_Shigure gasped and pretended to stumble back. "Kyo! Don't tell me you don't even know what THAT is! It's so basic! So classic! One of the best methods, actually, to starting a rela-"_

_"It's mistletoe, isn't it?" Uo said flatly._

_"Mistle…?" Kyo glanced up at the plant above them again, and his blank expression contorted into a shocked and angry one as he was hit by the delayed thunderbolt of realization. "You gotta be kidding me! How the hell did that get there?"_

_"It's. A. Se. Cret." Shigure said, winking. After all, it wasn't HIS fault Tohru had put him in charge of decorations…_

_"THERE IS NO WAY-"_

_"YOU STUPID WRITER GUY-"_

_"-THAT I AM KISSING-"_

_"-I AM NOT KISSING-"_

_"-THIS DAMN YANKEE!"_

_"-THIS STUPID ORANGE TOP!"_

_Uo and Kyo glared at each other as they finished their sentences at the same time._

_Shigure flapped a hand at them. "Oh, don't worry, don't worry! No one's around to see you two, it's ok! I'll give you some space, then! Oh, Tori-chaaaan!" He skipped off in search of his doctor friend, who at that moment must have been trying to ward off a headache._

_"…"_

_"…"_

_"There's no way I'm kissing you, got that, Yankee?"_

_"Same goes to you, Kyon!"_

_"…"_

_"…"_

_"…"_

_"…"_

_"I mean…"_

_"Well…" _

"It's kind of…"

_"It'd be kind of weird… breaking a tradition…"_

_"Yea…" Kyo looked away after saying this, as did Uo, but neither of them moved._

_"…"_

_"…"_

_"Hey- Yankee."_

_"What do you want, Kyon?"_

_"…"_

_"…"_

_"…Can I just… it's some damn rule, and…"_

_"Whatever, Kyon. Suit yourself."_

_Kyo let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and bent over. "It's not like I want to do this, just so you know." He whispered to her, his words brushing over her lips._

_"Mm." Was all Uo had time to mutter before he kissed her, the blush on both their faces spreading rapidly._

_X_

_"Oh, what luck! And here a camera was lying just as I tripped and had to sit down and tend to my injuries!" Shigure sang softly to himself, peeking around the corner. He smiled at the sight._

_"Merry Christmas…"

* * *

_

And right after that, they'd proceeded to hunt Shigure and beat him to near death. Uo almost laughed, remembering this. That night had been crazy- there was so much _emotion_ in the air, and Shigure's spontaneously placed mistletoe hadn't helped. Hiro had finally kissed Kisa that night, and she'd heard that Haru had managed to get Hana under the mistletoe as well. Shigure and Ayame- they came close, but Kyo and Yuki had threatened _sever_e injuries, as well as Hatori's super-long-and-thick needles… that was enough to reduce them to harmless, but still annoying, flirting. She and Kyo had stayed at least 10 feet away from each other for the rest of the night, so the whole house had to put up with them shouting across the room at each other.

_It was so long ago…_

The happy feeling in Uo's chest, as she thought about her happier memories, faded away as she realized that it also seemed like a long time ago when she last saw Kyo.

Now, those memories… those times of laughing, having fun, and just living up life to the fullest with Kyo and the rest of her friends… they seemed so out of reach now. A part of her past that she'd dropped somewhere, and now she couldn't find them anymore… Memories she'd almost lost. And Uo wondered if life would ever have meaning again, and if life would ever feel the way it did back then…

But before she fell back into her dark abyss of depression, which she'd worked so hard just to climb up and barely hang onto the edge of the cliff, some bright New Year decorations caught her eye- they were on clearance, just leftover merchandise that hadn't all been bought before New Year's. Uo fell, instead, back into the world of her leftover memories… the ones that hadn't died and disappeared yet.

* * *

_"Hey."_

_"Hey."_

_Kyo sat down next to Uo on the roof. "Why are you here, anyway? It's New Year's. Aren't you supposed to be with your family?"_

_Uo shrugged. "My dad's out getting drunk. My mom left when I was young. What family are you talking about?"_

_"Oh." _

_"Yea. It seemed pointless to sit in my house all alone, watching crappy TV, so Tohru invited me over."_

_"Oh."_

_"What about you? Aren't you supposed to be at Sohma House?"_

_"There's no point. I'm the outcast anyway, remember? The only reason they want me to go is so I can get tortured by Kagura. So I'm skipping. Screw Akito."_

_"Oh."_

_"Yea."_

_They sat in silence for a while, looking at the dark sky. The lights of the houses and buildings below them stretched for miles, it seemed like, until it met with the horizon. The little sparks in the windows, signifying everyone's celebrations and parties, seemed to form their own stars and constellations on the ground, mirroring the cloudless, shimmering sky._

_"So where's Prince Charming and Tohru, anyway?"_

_"They're waiting for the sunrise from Tohru's balcony thing."_

_"Why are you up here?"_

_"I live here, Yankee."_

_"No, I mean… the roof, Kyon Kyon."_

_"Because I like the roof, got a problem with that?"_

_"No, I just thought… since you hate me so much and all, and since I'm up here, I thought you'd go somewhere else."_

_"…"_

_"Like, in a New Year's congregation of cats or something."_

_"I hate you."_

_"Thanks. You too."_

_There was more silence, and Kyo laid back on the roof, resting his arms behind his head._

_"So, you haven't left yet. I hear the cats meowing, neko-chan."_

_"Nah. I'd rather waste my time with you."_

_Uo didn't respond- she couldn't come up with any kind of comeback for that. So she just grinned instead, and stared out over the horizon. _

_"Oi, Kyon."_

_"What?"_

_"The sun."_

_"What about the sun?"_

_"The sunrise, stupid. It's the sunrise."_

_"Oh."

* * *

_

They had watched the sun rise slowly, sitting there together on the roof in silence. As the rays had stretched out lazily and touched all the buildings with a golden glow, Uo remembered, that's when she had been hit full-force in the face with a realization- she was in love with Kyo.

Before that- the kiss in the rain, the ice cream, the Christmas party- she'd known that she _liked_ Kyo, and that she maybe _liked_ him more than a friend-

But sitting there, welcoming the New Year- turning casually to look at the guy sitting next to her, and seeing the innocent, trouble-free expression on Kyo's glowing face- watching him being bathed in that soft golden light, and the crazy thought that had crossed her mind at that moment, that he looked like an _angel_- that's when she had realized, that's when she finally understood, that she, Arisa Uotani, was _in love_ with Kyo Sohma.

She'd tried to hide her feelings even more than before, because she could've sworn that he would never feel that way… that if she ever let him know, then he'd turn away in disgust, and then she'd have no one, or at least she'd feel like it…

It never really crossed her mind that he could've felt, just a little bit, the same way that she did.

* * *

_"Wait… Yankee…. Wait a minute."_

_Uo turned around. "What up, Kyon? I thought we were done for the day."_

_"Yea… well…" Kyo searched for an excuse and said the first thing that came to mind. "We didn't go over the attendance yet! Yea, that's it! We didn't do that yet!"_

_Uo raised an eyebrow. "I thought that was the teacher's job."_

_"Well- no, it's a new duty for after school cleanup people. She was talking about it in class, weren't you listening?" Kyo tried to sound arrogant, and hoped that she wouldn't be able to tell he was lying._

_The blonde decided to let him have his way and sighed. She came back into the room and sat on top of a desk. "Then let's get this show on the road. Where is her attendance book, anyway?"_

_"I'm looking for it." Kyo said, going behind the teacher's desk and slowly ruffled through the many folders. He was hidden from view to Uo, except for his orange hair bobbing around, so what Uo couldn't see was that his hands were shaking. _

_The silence between them started to make Uo feel uncomfortable, so she just said whatever she could to prevent it from growing anymore. "Let's go, Kyon. We don't have all day." Getting bored of his aimless searching, she decided to get to the point. "We don't really have to do attendance, do we? I actually do listen, even though it doesn't look like it. What are you really trying to do, Kyon?"_

_Kyon stopped looking, but he didn't get up. "I…" He was starting to get flustered. "I… wanted to ask you… something."_

_"Well, out with it then." Uo teased good-naturedly. "It'll be years before I even hear the question, at this rate."_

_Kyo slowly got up, but looked down, unable to look her in the eyes. He clenched his fists, trying to stop them from shaking. "Uo?"_

_Uo hid her surprise when he called her by her name. "Yea?"_

_"Will you…" Kyo stopped, then tried again. "Will you... ugh." He started to turn away. "Dammit, this isn't working." He said out loud._

_"What's not working? Your brain? That never works anyway." Uo tried to relieve some of the tension in the room, but the truth was, she was getting nervous too. _What is he up to now?

_"…" Kyo didn't even try to come up with a comeback. "Will you…"_

_"…go away? Sure, why not." Uo said, grinning, as she hopped off the desk and started to walk away._

_"Hey, wait! No… that's not it!" Kyo walked quickly towards her and grabbed her hand. "Don't go away!"_

_Uo turned around to face him. "Ok, then what do you want?"_

_This close up, Kyo could see in her eyes that she was teasing him. "Dammit, Yankee, you know what I want!"_

_"No, I really don't. Why don't you tell me?" she said innocently._

_"You tell me!"_

_"So now you don't know what you want?" Uo suddenly realized how close they were, and that Kyo's hand was still holding hers. _

_"No- dammit!" Kyo said angrily in frustration. "I want- I want you to be my girlfriend!"  
_

_His face turned red, and he turned away from her. _Yea, that went real well._ He thought to himself. _Now she's never going to say-

_"Ok." _

_Kyo froze. He didn't turn around. "What?" he managed to say._

_"Ok." Uo repeated. "Yea, I'll be your girlfriend." She grinned, a faint blush on her cheeks, walking up to him and making him face her. "That ok with you?" _

_"Y-yea." Kyo let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and closed his eyes. "Yea… that's good."_

_Then there was a poof, and then he was looking up at Uo, her arms around his feline form. "What was that for?"_

_Uo started laughing, sliding down with her back against the wall until she was sitting. "It's how our new relationship starts off!" she said, holding the sulking cat tightly to her and laughing her heart out. It was just so funny, Kyo attempting to ask her out- it was so _adorable_. He was trying so hard that it made her laugh. She grinned at the embarrassed orange cat in her arms. "Oi, Kyon-"_

_"What?"_

_"Happy birthday."_

_Silence._

_"It's my birthday?"_

_"Hell yea, Kyon! You gotta be kidding me! You forgot it's your birthday!"_

_"…it's January 15 today?"_

_"Wow, you ARE denser than I thought."_

_"Shut up, Yankee!"_

_"Make me!"_

_"I will!"_

_"Ha, cats can't shut me up!"_

_"Let go of me! I don't wanna be a cat! I don't wanna be a cat!"_

_"Ahahaha!"

* * *

_

_January 15…_

Uo had always wanted to ask Kyo if he really _had_ known that it was January 15, and that it was his birthday.

Maybe he thought it would have been easier to remember if their anniversary was the same day as his birthday- but that wouldn't have worked out well either, since he couldn't even remember his own birthday. Last year, she and Tohru had managed to organize a huge surprise birthday party, inviting all his closer relatives (meaning the ones that didn't choke him to death or feel like throwing him in a locked room because he was the cat), and he'd been so taken aback that he'd practically cried, and he even kissed her in front of everyone- something he'd usually never risk doing, especially with Shigure, Ayame, Kagura, and everyone else there.

But either way, January 15 was a very _significant_ day… and not just to Uo and Kyo anymore, because it was their anniversary or because it was Kyo's birthday… but to _everyone_, because it was the day… since just six days ago… that Kyo _died_.

It was so _stupid_, so _pointless_! She wanted to yell. Why in the hell would whoever is planning out their lives, if there was a God or something, make the happiest day of their lives the _worst day ever_? Just for the sake of making interesting coincidences, they had to choose the same day of the birth of the most wonderful thing either of them had ever experienced to kill it off the face of the Earth! Why would this God guy give her the best feeling in the world, the happiness she never knew she could get, and then _take that all away?_

* * *

**Notes on the chapter**: My point in ending the chapter there was that the last flashback was of when Kyo asks her out, so that's when the relationship _starts_. The next chapter is really about their relationship in general, so I was trying to kind of separate the two. But it would really make it easier to understand if you read chapters 5 and 6 together, whenever I get the chance to put up chapter 6. And… I don't really like this chapter. I don't know why. Then again, I'm never confident about my writing, if you haven't noticed. 

Oh, and the fight in capital letters that Kyo and Uo have during the Christmas party, about the actor in the movie- it's Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate factory. I don't even like Johnny Depp, but it was just the first movie that popped into my mind. And then I was too lazy to change it. Also, in the Christmas flashback, it was mentioned that Uo found out about Kyo's curse two weeks earlier- that means it's after the kiss in the rain and the ice cream, but before the Christmas flashback and the New Year's flashback. I didn't put the curse flashback in because it didn't seem like it would flow well, but if you want an example of what it could have been, you can read my other KyoUo fanfic, _Remember_. And finally, the only scenes that took place after they started going out in this chapter were the April Fool's one and the park scene (with the kids). also went screwy on me, and it won't let me put multiple exclamation marks or exclamation marks after question marks- so if it seems like something's punctuated weird, then it probably isn't my fault.

I have great reasons/excuses for putting this up so late (they're basically the same as the previous chapter's A/N rant), but I'd feel bad about taking up so much space, since I still have to answer all these lovely reviews I got during the delay! Much thanks to you all- you really encouraged me to keep writing and not give up. (Basically hinting, review more and the next chapter will come out faster. There is no way I'm pulling another 4 month delay.)

Akkitora: Thank you. Yea, there was a big delay, wasn't there? That's a really bad habit of mine... writer's block is a horrible enemy to have. Well, change can be good... or I've just watched too muchcheesy TV. XD Thanks for reviewing!

Ariyana: Yea, I like Akito and Hana a lot (I'm a dark character kind of person), but it's because they're more mysterious that it's harder to write them. I tried... well here is another update, and tell me what you (honestly) think of this chapter! Thank you for reviewing!

Jade Rose: And I love you too! Well the main characters are starting to appear... but thanks! Well, this update wasn't as bad as the last one, right? I think... I can't even remember when the time I updated before the last chapter was. I love KyoUo too... geez, I wonder how you can tell...haha, thanks for reviewing!

Kira: Yay! I posted! I'm happy too! This is another chapter, I guess, and there'll be a few more too! And I'll need that luck... thanks for reviewing!

unheard screams: Thank you. That means a lot to me and it really makes me feel great to know that people can feel that way about my writing. Knowing that there's people like you reading my story made me remember not to just leave my story uncontinued! Thanks for reviewing chapter 2 too. XD I love you. Thanks for saying all that cool praise stuff. Thanks for reviewing!

vivi scarlett-sedai: Hey, it's you! Write another KyoUo story! XD thanks. I try my best to make people sad (which sounds weird, but what do I care). You are too! Thanks for reviewing!

silvercats: I heart Kyo too, but what a mean person I am, I killed him off. XD Don't worry, we haven't seen the last of Kyon. Thanks for reviewing!

AllyEver: Thanks! This is half of Uo's turn, and she'll appear more after that... oops, sorry, my update wasn't ASAP. XD I'll try harder next time. Thanks for reviewing!

Aria's star: I know, I want him to come back too. Well, I'm not really totally into the whole fantasy magic thing (as a writer, but I like reading it), so he won't come back to life... but... I'm not going to ruin it, you'll just have to wait to find out! Thanks for reviewing!

crazy girl: Thank you! Nice name, by the way. XD Thanks for reviewing!

PriestessLennoue: YAY I made another person cry! -dances- yea, I know school's over, but I'm a lazy butt when it comes to summer, plus my school got out pretty late... and I'm a slow writer. Well I updated mine, so update your story! Thanks for reviewing!

So, please review! The next chapter should be just as long and probably even longer, so I'll be working for a while on it. I've got a lot planned for this story though, so if it makes you feel any better, there is NO WAY I am going to discontinue this fic. And once again, I'm gladly accepting any ideas for any KyoUo scenes you want to see (no lemon, though)- I just need more _stuff_.


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